A Shift in the Evolution
by Invader ZaiFae
Summary: A new mutant comes to the Institute, with a very familiar set of powers and a past she desperately tries to keep a secret. Why? Now we know...((Chapter 17 up!))
1. The Intro

Okay, people, this is my first Evo fanfic, which contains my OC: Janella.  She's technically not introduced in this ridiculously short chapter (the others are longer!) but she will show up!  Um, try not to be too hard on me, 'k?

Kurt's my fav chara from the show, so don't be surprised if there's some vague hints towards Kurt/Janella near the end, okay?

Just so you all know:

_~This is telepathic speech.~_

"This is regular speech."

Any word that's either italicized among regular print or non-italicized among word in italics is in another language, probably German.

Oh, one more thing in this long a/n: I can't write in accents-any accents.  So bear with me, please.  Any suggestions or corrections would be vastly appreciated.  Thanks!

Finally: the story.  I swear, I thought this a/n would end up longer than it!!

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_~Kurt, I'd like to see you in my office, please.~_

            Kurt heard Professor Xavier's voice in his head, and nodded once before replying in a similar way.

            _~Ja, right avay, _Herr _Professor.~  _He stood, and excused himself.  Some of the other young X-Men were lounging in the living room, watching TV.  Only Evan acknowledged Kurt, and only with a wave of his hand.  Kurt rolled his eyes, and turning, teleported to outside the Professor's office.  He knocked twice and, receiving acknowledgement, entered.

            Professor Charles Xavier sat behind his rich mahogany desk, hands folded.  Ororo Munroe stood at his shoulder, and Jean Grey was sitting in a chair in front of the desk.

            "You vanted to see me, _Herr _Professor?" Kurt asked, stepping inside and wondering what he had done wrong this time.

            "Ah, yes Kurt, I did," Professor X said, gesturing.  "Please, take a seat."  Kurt dropped into the chair opposite Jean.  "The reason I called the three of you here is because I have a sort of mission for you.  I'd like you three to try and recruit what appears to be a very powerful mutant down in New Jersey."  Kurt sat back.  He knew that Jean and Ororo often went on recruiting trips, but wondered why he was too, and voiced his question.

            "Me?  Vhy me?"

            "Well," the Professor began.  "I've been spending time in Cerebro, looking for potential recruits for our team.  I located this girl, and some tentative probing has convinced me to attempt to win her over to our side.  However, if she's as careless with displaying her abilities, as I believe she is, we may not be the only ones who know about her.  I'd like you to be there if it is necessary to get her out of danger fast."  Kurt nodded.

            "I see, _Herr _Professor," he said, "and am honored by your trust."

            "It is well placed, Kurt, well placed," the Professor said with a genial chuckle.  He made a shooing gesture with his hand.  "Now away with you three," he said.  "Go!  Go get her!"  Kurt and Jean stood, and Ororo moved around the desk.  The trio headed for the door.  "And go as representatives of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, not X-Men!" he added.  

            "Yes, Professor," the three chorused, waving as they exited the room.

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So that's my intro chap.  Truth be told, I don't expect any reviews for this, but if you'd like to, it would be really appreciated.  Thanks!!  I already have 10 chapters of this typed, so expect the next soon!

Disclaimer:  Um, if I owned X-Men: Evolution, why would I go to the trouble of typing this fic?  Hmm?  I'd just go and introduce Janella on the show.  But obviously, I'm not, so simple logic can tell you I do not own Evo.  Thank you.


	2. Introducing: Janella!

All right, folks, here's the second chapter.  And guess what?  We meet Janella!!  Oh happy day!  *Dances*  Sorry, I'm quite hyper right now.

IceAngel8, AngelShadowCat/NightCrawler, thanks you so much for reviewing!!  It's much appreciated!!  *Bows respectfully*  Oh, and people who are reading?  Go read IceAngel8's 'Awakening'.  It's a really, really good OC story!

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Janella Baduini sat up, stretching to ease the kinks in her back.  She removed the heavy leather work-gloves she was wearing and wiped the sweat off her brow.  She stretched her arms and legs and stood, reaching for the bottle of Gatorade in the shade.  The unscrewed the top of it and took a long swig before putting her gloves back on and setting back to work weeding the strip of shrubbery behind the large rural home she lived in.

            _~Why isn't Reno helping, the lazy…?~_ her thought trailed off as she heard the sound of a jet flying overhead.  She looked up quickly, but couldn't see anything.  _~Probably just another Air Force hotshot,~_ she thought scornfully, remembering the incident that nearly blew the windows out of her middle school a few years ago when she still attended it.  She chuckled, and worked her trowel under a clump of stubborn dandelions.  She couldn't believe school had finally let out!  Yet here she was, on her first free afternoon, weeding the damn shrubbery!

            It wasn't long until she got the feeling she was being watched, and figured out where her stepbrother must have gone.  Very quickly, she allowed pair of cat-like ears grow up through her hair, which was rapidly turning from dark brown to bright red.  The thick plait down her back became thicker and grew longer, and a mop of short red strands replaced the few loose wisps of her usual hairstyle.  A bushy auburn tail sprouted from the end of her spine and began swishing back and forth.  She cocked her ears and listened, but didn't hear another sound for a few moments.  Then, the sounds of quiet movement reached her ears again, but were getting fainter.  Whatever it was was moving away, so she relaxed, shifting back into her typical form.  

            She bent back to her work, trying to do it as quickly and thoroughly as possible, so she could get back inside and actually begin to enjoy her vacation!  She growled as she spotted a particularly large, nasty looking, thorned plant growing right next to one of the bushes she was tending.  She looked at it with disgust.  Plants like that could poke right through gloves!  It would require an alternate method of removal.

            Luckily, she had one.

            After a cursory glance around to make sure no one she didn't know was watching, she removed the gloves and held up her hands.  She squinted at them, and after a moment, her forearms and hands began to change.  First, the skin became a dull yellow, mottled color, and them the mottling turned into the raised pebbles of scales.  The bones in her hand lengthened, and her fingers melded together before splitting into three digits, each tipped with a wicked, curving claw.

            She grinned at the now raptor-like hands, and flexed them experimentally, before beginning to dig into the ground with them.  She excavated the weed and flung it away from her, towards the woods.  Then, to her surprise, she heard a female voice shout, "Kurt, look out!" followed by a cry of, "Aah!  Flying veeds!" and a laugh.  She pivoted on the balls of her feet, but just ended up tripping over her own feet and falling to her rear.

            "Who's there?" she asked in a quavering voice.  "Show yourself!"

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Okay, like I said last time, reviews are much appreciated!!  So do it…PLEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEE????????

Okay, that done:  I don't own X-Men: Evo.  Not that I haven't tried…O.O  Ignore that…^.^'


	3. Another teleporter? Well, kinda

MetaChi!!  You found it!!  You see, this was a…erm...test, yeah that's it!!  Testing…oh I dunno.  Y'know, I could've sworn I told ya…oh well.  Sorry!  Hee…questions are fun…as will be 'that other fic'…yeah, I think now is a good time to shut my yap.

Thankies also to Kitty Tigri and, once again, AngelShadowCat/NightCrawler for reviewing!!  I'm in a good mood now!…though it's 12:20 a.m. at the moment…

Yeah…here's the story…and look!  Evo charas!  Yay!!

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"Iz zat her?" Kurt asked, carefully pushing down a tree branch to get a better look.

            "Yes," Jean said with a decisive nod.  "I believe so."

            "Vell, she's sort of…small."  And she was.  She couldn't be any more than five feet or so tall when she stood, and was extremely thin.  The thinness was exacerbated by the fact that she wore a tight, purple halter-top under a short black vest, and a pair of jeans that accentuated her waist very well.  Her long, dark hair was separated into three plaits: two thin ones framing her face and a thicker one in the back. She wore no make up, and had a purple and black shoelace wrapped several times about her neck.

            "She may seem small," Jean said quietly with a shrug, "but that doesn't mean there isn't a tremendous amount of power in there.  I mean, look at you.  You're a twig, but you're still a very formidable opponent."  Kurt just shrugged.

            "How do we know that is her, though?" Ororo asked, whispering only loud enough for it to be audible.  For a response, Jean just pointed, and both Ororo and Kurt turned to see the cat's ears and tail grow from her.  "Oh," said Ororo.  "I see."

            "Come on," Jean whispered, backing away.  "Let's go around to the front of the house."  The other two nodded and followed as she led the way.  The made it to the road before turning and cutting back across the yard.  Kurt moved out in front as they came around the house.  

            "What's her name?" Ororo asked Jean.

            "Janella," she replied.  "Janella Baduini…we think."  Ororo nodded, and turned back to see a vegetative projectile sail past the corner of the house.  "Kurt, look out!" she called.

            The disguised mutant looked up and ducked.  "Aah!  Flying veeds!" he cried, laughter in his voice.  A moment later, they heard the girl call out, "Who are you?  Show yourself!"  Jean stepped ahead of the others and around the corner, Ororo and Kurt just behind her.

            "Hello," she said pleasantly, trying to show the girl she meant no harm.  "My name is Jean Grey, and I'm looking for Janella Baduini.  You wouldn't happen to know her, would you?"

            "Maybe," the girl said guardedly, standing and brushing off some stray blades of grass.  "What's it to you?"

            "We come to extend her an offer to attend Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in north New York state.  It is a very exclusive school, mind you, and this is a once in a lifetime offer."  The girl appeared to consider for a moment before speaking up.

            "So maybe I'm Janella," she says.  "Why exactly should I go to this school?  I go to school here!"

            "Ah, yes," Ororo said, stepping forward.  "But are there-?"  Before Ororo could complete her question, though, a shout came from the trees behind the house and a teenage boy, anorexically thin, came charging out, waving what looked like a sophisticated water gun.  Janella spun and started, and when the three representatives next looked, she wasn't anywhere to be seen.  In fact, she wasn't even on the ground.  She was perched on the second story roof, leaning over, clutching the gutter.  Her previously bound, brown hair, and changed to black, streaked with bright red, and was hanging over and around her shoulders.  Amongst her bared teeth were two pointed fangs, which has not been there previously.  Two wide magenta wings had sprung from her shoulder blades, and she was fanning them furiously.  Occasionally, a glimpse of a magenta tail tipped with a spade like Kurt's could be seen over the edge of the roof or the curve of her shoulder, giving the impression that it was lashing furiously.

            "Reno!" she shouted at the boy, who was doubled over in laughter.  "You slarking asshole, what are you trying to do, give me a bleeding heart attack?!  I'm of a mind to go inside and get my CPS 2500!!"  This threat had more weight then it seemed, for the boy instantly stopped laughing and stood up straight. 

            "Don't you dare…" he said

            "Try me!" she shouted back, obviously still incensed.  "I dare you!!  Try me!!"   The boy, Reno, took a few steps back and held up his hands defensively.  Janella's wings sagged, and the tip of her tail flopped limply over the side of the gutter.  She looked to the three mutants, who seemed struck dumb by this outburst.

            "Listen," she said, sitting back and crossing her legs, voice taking on a dejected note.  "I'm sorry for him," she gestured to Reno, who was still slowly backing away, "and I'm sorry for this."  She gestured to her wings and newly changed hair.  She didn't expect a reply.  Since she didn't know the three representatives were mutant, she fully expected then to go tearing out of the yard, yelling about demons or aliens or something of the like.  She was therefore pleasantly surprised when they didn't run or scream.  "So…" she continued in a more hopeful tone of voice, "you were asking me about my school?"  

            Ororo turned to Kurt and smiled.  "Do you think you could ask her?" she asked.  "I don't feel like yelling."  Kurt realized what she meant and smiled also.  

            "Vith pleasure," he said, turning and looking up at Janella.  The transformed girl nearly fell off the roof when he disappeared in a puff of blue smoke and reappeared next to her on the roof.  She gawked at Kurt.

            "Wow…that's…so…cool!" she breathed, looking at him.  He smiled.

            "Izn't it though?" he said.  She nodded enthusiastically.

            "You know," she said, leaning in conspiratorially, "I can do something like that too."

            He drew back, eyes wide.  "Really?"  As far as he knew, he was the only teleporting mutant.  Of course, that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't the only one, but he had never met another, nor expected to.

            "Watch," Janella was saying, spreading her wings wider.  The bright magenta hue quickly darkened to red, and them black interlaced with the red.  All of the hair on her head disappeared as a wave of black scales started at her hairline and swept down her face, neck, arms, and legs to her tail.  The tail lengthened and thickened, the spade on the end splitting into two, and thick red scales lined the bottom third, near the base.  The shape of the legs changed, thigh and shinbones shortening and foot and anklebones lengthening, until she was squatting on the balls of her feet.   Two of the toes were long and fully in contact with the ground, but the third curved upward and sported a scythe-like claw similar to that of a raptor.  Her arms lengthened and slimmed out, and three long, claw-tipped fingers replaced five relatively stubby human ones.  Two fangs began two protrude from her mouth as a row of spines sprouted from the back of her head and traveled in a wave down her back to the end of her tail, where they flared into a lethal cluster.  

            Janella sat back now, paused for a moment, tail moving slightly from side-to-side.  She looked over at Kurt and smiled, an unnerving expression on that inhuman face.  Kurt got the feeling that maybe this was one mutant who wouldn't at first repulsed by his natural appearance.  

            _~This is only a half-shift,~_ she said, voice echoing in his mind.  _~I can't complete these extreme ones in one go yet.~ _She shrugged, wing elbows imitating the movement.  Then her head grew out, two long, forward curving horns sprouting above her eyes and another on the end of her snout.  Her eyes became bright yellow, and several long spines shot out behind her eyes, webbing forming between them.  A few triangular ridges grew along her lower jaw.  She tilted her head to one side, and Kurt could have sworn she was smiling at him, though it was hard to tell.  

            _~Watch,~_ she said, spreading the wings and launching from the roof.  Jean and Ororo ducked away from the blast of wind, and Reno pressed himself against the wall of the house, eyes rolling.  She just skimmed the surface of the grass a moment before pulling up again.  Right before she would have crashed into the tree line, she disappeared.  No sound, no puff of smoke, no indications of anything-she was just gone.

            Kurt teleported back down to the ground, reappearing in the midst or a question asked by Ororo.

            "-id she go?"  He figured the first part had been "Where d-?"  Jean pointed over their heads.

            "Right there," she said.  Janella had reappeared, and was flapping her wide wings slowly, fanning gusts of incredibly cold air down on them.  She settled slowly to the ground, and quickly and fluidly changed back into her human shape.

            "That was an…interesting demonstration," Ororo said.  "Are you usually that…quick to display your talents?"

            Janella shrugged.  "Not on purpose.  Sometimes, things just grow out of me, especially if I'm surprised, like you saw with Reno!"  On this last word, her voice rose accusatorily, and she half turned towards the boy, glaring.  She turned back.  "However, I kind of figured it was okay since…" She gestured to Kurt, shrugging again.  "Wasn't the smartest thing to do, huh?"

            "No, not really," Ororo said, with a smile to dispel any feeling of extreme disapproval.  

            "Maybe," Jean said, breaking in, "we can take this inside.   It is sort of…exposed out here."  

            Janella nodded.  "You're right.  I should have offered right away."  She turned then and led the way into the large, tastefully decorated house.  "Can I get any of you a drink or something?" she asked, shifting back and forth from foot to foot, apparently uncomfortable in this hostess role.  The trio nodded, and she quickly situated them with their preferences from the myriad of beverages in the large refrigerator.  She picked a can of something herself, and sat down at a large table.

            "You said you were representatives of a school for the 'gifted,' as you put it?" she said, prompting them to give her more info.

            "Yes," Ororo said, leaning forward.  "Xavier's school is told off to the public as a very exclusive prep school.  However, our true purpose is to train mutants to control their powers and use them for the good of all.   Actually, most of the students still of school age attend the local high school, Bayville High."  Janella nodded.  "Most of the mutants, when they've progressed far enough in their abilities, are given the choice of joining the X-Men."

            "The X-Men?"

            "Yes," Ororo said, continuing.  "We're a group of…well, crime fighters, really, assembled by Professor Xavier, who supports the school and all its facilities."  Janella nodded.  

            "I see," she said, folding her hands and resting her chin upon them.  "And what if a graduate chooses not to become one of these X-Men?"

            "They're allowed to leave, live their life as they will, attempting to be normal, or even staying on at the Institute as an instructor or behind-the-scenes sort of person."  Janella nodded.  

            "And if I choose to attend this school?" Janella asked.

            "You'll be given room and board," Ororo said.  "You'll attend the local high school, starting next year seeing as this year's almost over.  You'll be instructed in how to control and moderate your gifts, and be given the opportunity, if you so choose, to join the X-Men."  Janella tapped at her chin, and her eyes became glazed over, as she appeared to think about it.

            "Suppose I choose to come, but turns out I don't like it.  I'm uncomfortable, or just don't fit in?  What then?"

            "You're free to leave, at any time."  Janella nodded once again.  She asked a final question.

            "How soon do you need my decision?"

            "As soon as you can provide it," Storm said spreading her hands.

            "The I'll give it to you," Janella said with a smile.  "I'd be honored to attend Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."  Ororo matched her own smile to the girl's.

            "That's wonderful!" she said.  "Now…how soon can you be packed?"

It didn't take long for Janella to fill a suitcase with clothes, nor a small duffel bag with the sanitary necessities she preferred.  It did take longer, though, for her to gather the personal items she wanted, since they seemed to be scattered about the house.  The two women stayed in the kitchen but Kurt opted to follow Janella around and try to help her.  She had opened a backpack now, and slid several sketchpads of assorted sizes inside.  She was browsing a pair of bookshelves, pulling off random titles and putting them in too.  She then darted back into her room and threw the covers off her bed, revealing quite a few stuffed animals.  Two or three of the most worn were added to the backpack before it was closed.  She turned to Kurt with a smile. 

            "Just a few more things," she said, winking.  She moved into her closet and pulled out a large, blue bag with several pockets on the front.  She opened them systematically and checking the contents inside, before closing them.  She then opened a door into the next room, which was just a small room with wide windows and a desk.  Sitting on the desk was a laptop, which she unplugged and slipped into the bag, bundling the charger and slipping it into the pocket.

            "My baby," she sighed, patting the bag and taking it back through her bedroom and into the hall where the other things were.  She stood and, motioning once again to Kurt to follow her, slipped into her room and into the closet.  Pushing aside the clothes at the back, she revealed a small door, which she opened onto a narrow, steep stairwell.  Smiling mischievously, she led the way up the stairwell and into a small room that was furnished with some wooden crates and a beanbag chair.

            "This is my sanctuary," she told Kurt.  "Neither of my step mothers nor my step brother knows about it.  It's the only place I can get away in!"   She sighed and looked around.  "I can tell I'll miss the privacy."  She moved over to one of the crates and flipped it over to reveal a plastic chest about twice the size of a shoebox.  She picked it up and moved over to the head of the stairs.  "Oh dookie," she muttered.  "I forgot…"

            "Forgot _was_?" Kurt asked.  She chuckled self-deprecatingly.  

"I can't get this down the stairs!!  It's too full!"  Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Zat von't be a problem," he said, and before she could reply, he laid a hand on her shoulder and teleported them into her room.  She reeled slightly.

"Oh yeah," she said.  "I forgot that too!" They looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment, and Kurt realized his hand was still on her shoulder.  He took it off and stepped away.  She gave herself a small shake and moved away, back into the hall.  The slid the backpack onto her shoulders and picked up the small duffel bag.  She had one arm around the chest and the computer bag over her shoulder, but she managed to gesture awkwardly at the suitcase.  "Could you…?"

"_Ja,_" Kurt said with a nod, picking it up.

"Thank you!"  The two carried the things downstairs and into the kitchen.  Jean instantly stood up and relieved Janella of a few of her things.

"Is that all you'll need?" Ororo asked.  Janella nodded.  

"Oh, wait!"  She said, setting her things on the floor and turning and darting into a front room.  She returned a moment later with a boxy, black hand bag.  She was stuffing a CD player into it.  She slung it over her shoulder and picked up her other things.  "Now I'm-wait again!  I should say goodbye…" Ororo nodded consent, and the girl whirled and disappeared into a doorway.  There was a hollow pounding that indicated she was going down a flight of stairs.  The three mutants exchanged questioning looks and shrugged.  It was her business.  

Maybe ten minutes, she reemerged from the basement and quickly picked up her things, the corners of her eyes slightly wet.

"Are you ready to go?" Ororo asked.  Janella nodded.  

"I am," she said, moving to open the door into the back yard.  Ororo, who wasn't carrying anything, moved forward and opened it for her, holding it open while the three laden ones passed out.  It apparently wasn't a very far walk to their jet, because they set a brisk pace and were soon there.  They set the things on the ground as Janella let her eyes take in the vehicle they came in.

"Damn…" she murmured, amazed.  "Nice ride."

"Thanks," Ororo and Kurt said at the same time, before beginning to laugh.  The entrance was opened, and they began the quick task of loading Janella's relatively few things.  The sound of a dirt bike in the distance made them stop.  Janella in particular tensed and cocked her head to one side.  Her stance changed almost imperceptibly, and her movements became jerky, but controlled.  It was obvious to them that she was a shapeshifter, and they wondered what she was becoming now.  She straightened as the sound drew closer.  

"It's Reno," she stated, turning back to loading her things into the jet.  "I can tell."  She was right.  A few moments later, a sleek Japanese dirt bike slid into the clearing, the boy on it the one who had spooked the girl earlier.  He looked normal enough, but as he pulled his helmet off, Kurt wondered if he was the only one who noticed that the boy held his hands in the same manner his appeared when he was wearing his image inducer.  He unconsciously stuck his hands in his pockets.  Janella sauntered forward and punched the boy I his shoulder.

"Whaddya want, E.T.?" she asked.  He glared at her for a moment, eyes flicking to the three mutants by the jet.  

"Mom said you were leaving…I wanted to say goodbye!"

"I should hope so!" Janella said crossing her arms and leaning back.  "I'd never forgive you if you didn't."  She leaned forward and hugged him quickly, tapping his forehead before she took a step forward.  "Stay outta trouble, pal," she said, turning away and walking back to the others.  He went to put his helmet on.

"I'm likely to get into less trouble with you gone!" he called as they went to board the jet.  She leaned back out.

"You won't last a minute without me around!!" she called as he kicked the bike into gear.  He spun it and sped off, smiling over his shoulder at her and holding up the first two fingers of his left hand.  She stuck out her tongue at him and yelled "Right back atcha, pal!" before climbing fully into the jet.  

"Shall we go?" she asked with a smile, sitting down in one of the seats and buckling on the harness at Jean's direction.

"Yes," Ororo replied, lifting the aircraft from the ground.  "Yes we shall!"

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Woo!  Long one this time!!  *Looks up at story*  Did you know that if this were a Word document and you printed it, it would be six pages??  That's a lot…

Oh, and MetaChi?  Sorry you didn't get to see how *cough* her parents *cough* got to act, but…well….don't want to give away the secrets of my story, now do I?  *Looks around*  Did I say too much?  Uh oh…I think I said too much…

Disclaimer:  Sadly, I still do not own X-Men: Evolution.  If I did, don't you think I'd be spending my time thinking up ways to subtly control the world using that wonderful show?  You don't?  Well, you should.  One day, I'm gonna rule the world, and it will all be through children's programming!  You wait and see!  *Commence maniacal laughter…………..now!*


	4. The Institute

Here's another relatively long one!  Actually, most of them are pretty long from here on in, so…

MetaChi, did you remember what you wanted to borrow?  And yes, long reviews are good!  *Nods* Very good…

Hmm…well then, UberNekoChan, I'll just have to stage my hostile takeover of the world's television megaliths sooner than I planned then…*Wanders off to plan*

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It didn't take them long to arrive back at the Institute, and Janella seemed even more amazed when they landed it in the underground hangar.

            "Like it?" Ororo asked.

            "Oh yeah," Janella breathed reverently.

            "You can leave your things in the jet," Ororo said, shutting the jet down fully and unbuckling her harness.  "We can come back for them later, after introductions."  Janella nodded, and all four disembarked from the jet. Jean informed the Professor that they were coming, and by the time the led the girl into his office, all of the adult members of the time were assembled there, as well as most of the older students. Unexpectedly, Janella held back when they entered the room.

            "_Was_ is wrong?" Kurt asked, noticing the new recruit wasn't following them.

            "There's so many people," Janella said in a sort of awestruck voice.  "I don't like…so many people.  Especially when I don't know them."  She shuddered slightly.

            "Don't vorry," Kurt said, trying to urge her into the room.  "Ve've all gone through zis at von point or another."  Janella nodded and, taking a deep breath, stepped into the room.

            She looked into the eyes of the man directly opposite her, across the room, and suddenly felt very at ease, though she also felt as if the man were looking through her.  Ignoring the people sitting in chairs or standing on each side of the room, she walked right up to the desk, before stopping and bowing once.  The man behind the desk nodded in return.

            "Greetings, Janella," he said.  "I'm Charles Xavier, the proprietor of this school.  I'm pleased that you've chosen to attend."  

            "I'm pleased to have been given the privilege of attending," she said in return, smiling and receiving one in return.  Xavier gestured behind her, and she turned around.

            "I'd like you to meet my X-Men," he said.  "You were told of them correct?"  Janella didn't know it at the moment, but he choosing to ask her aloud instead of simply peeking in her mind, or asking Jean or Ororo, was an honor.  Janella nodded once again.

            "That I have," she said.  "That I have."  

            "Well, then, allow me to introduce you them.  Or rather, allow them to introduce themselves."    The first person to approach was a tall, thin young man wearing ruby red sunglasses.  He held out his hand, and she took it and shook.

            "My name's Scott Summers," he said, "but my codename is Cyclops."

            "Cyclops?" she questioned.  He nodded.

            " I can shoot these beams from my eyes," he said gesturing to his glasses.  "An 'optic blast,' as the Professor calls it."  Janella nodded as another girl moved forward and Scott stepped back.

            "Hi!" she said brightly.  "I'm, like, Kitty Pryde, and I can phase through things."  Janella nodded.  

            "Neat!" Janella said, shaking her hand also.  She was introduced to Evan and Rogue also, though the latter opted not to shake hands and explained why, even though she did have gloves on.  She was then introduced to the two other adult members of the team, Hank McCoy and Logan.   Though the appearance of the former dazed her for a moment, it barely showed, and Professor X's approval of her rose another notch.  She then introduced herself to them.

"My name's Janella Baduini, and I have the ability to shapeshift," she said.  The statement drew more than a few startled gasps, and she looked around bewilderedly for a moment before shrugging. "Um…I come from a fairly stable if odd family in New Jersey.  I have two stepmothers and a stepbrother, Reno.  The whole thing is a little confusing, though, and I'd appreciate if you didn't ask."  The others nodded, respecting her request for privacy in this aspect.  Most of them had some facet or another of their past that they didn't share, so it was perfectly all right for her to have one too.

The Professor cast his mind about the room, very barely tapping the edges of the consciousnesses there, and decided to have Kurt show her around.  He dismissed the others, keeping Kurt and Janella behind.

            "Kurt, do you think you could help Janella here get settled, and maybe help her find her way around?" he asked, tilting his head towards the boy.  Kurt nodded, and the Professor told him which room was to be hers.  

            "Now, I'd just like to tell you that though you have a room to yourself now, as soon as we get a new recruit, she'll probably move in with you."  Janella nodded once.  

            "I'm truly fine with that," she said, smiling her acceptance.  The Professor dismissed them both, and Kurt led her back to the jet.  He opted to walk, so she could begin to familiarize herself with the mansion.  On the way, they made small talk.

            "So…" Janella said, taking the initiative.  "Where do you come from?  I don't mean to sound brash or anything, but I noticed you had an accent…" He smiled.

            "I'm from Germany," he said.  She nodded.  

            "Cool!  I figured it was European, but wasn't really sure where…" She glanced up to see if she had offended him, but he didn't appear so, so she relaxed.  Conversation, surface though it was, came easily between the two, which really surprised her.  She was always reserved around those she didn't know, and this odd easiness almost made her uneasy.  Almost.  By the time the reached the jet, she knew a little bit about his humorous personality, and he knew of her extensive love of anything paranormal, which was one of the reasons she delighted so in her abilities.  The hatch to the jet was open, and the climbed in and began to remove her items.  She glanced sideways at him, and something about his posture, the way he held himself, tickled something in her mind.  It had been annoying her since she first saw him, but she couldn't place it.  It was odd.  

            "They call you Nightcrawler," she said casually, "but there has to be a reason other than that you can teleport.  I don't know why, but that doesn't really seem enough to inspire the name of Nightcrawler."  Kurt blushed slightly, though she couldn't see it, and made up his mind to show her now, early on.  He had waited with some of the other new students, with quite unpleasant results.

            "Vell," he said slowly, "zere iz something else…" She looked up, interest plainly written on her face.  He held up his wrist to show her his watch.  "I vear an image inducer, to hide zis."  He pressed the button, and the hologram disappeared, revealing his true, blue self.  She regarded him for a moment before her eyes opened wide, her mouth forming an 'O' of astonishment.  

            "_Edhel-luin_," she murmured under her breath, almost reverently.

            "_Was_?" he asked, nose wrinkled in confusion.

            "Blue elf," she said in the same tone of voice.  "It's Elvish for blue elf!  Wow…that's so cool!"

            "Do you really think so?" he asked.

            "Yes, I do," she stated, crossing her arms and leaning back.  Her eyes brightened.  "And a tail too!  Man I wish I had a natural form as cool as that."

            "No, you don't" he told her, bending to pick up one of her bags.  "It's…an annoyance."  The way he said it indicated to her that it was much more than an annoyance, but she didn't say anything.  He looked around in dismay.  "Ach!  Ve're going to have to make more zan von trip!"  She laughed.  

"No we won't!" she informed him.  "Let's just get it out of the plane."  Transferring the cargo didn't take more than a few moments, but Kurt crossed his arms.  

"I still don't see how zis von't take more zan von trip," he told her.

"Watch," she said.  Instantly, she began to change.  Her arms and legs became those of the black dragon he had seen at her home, only lacking the fourth opposable digit.  A tail grew, but it wasn't as long, and obviously very stiff.  She bent forward as her spine's position in relation to her hips changed, and her neck grew longer, flexing into an 'S' curve.  It wasn't nearly as long as the dragon's neck.  Her head stretched out forward once again, and filled with sharp, backwards pointing teeth.  A pair of ridges grew over her eyes, which once again became yellow, this time framing black pupils like those of cats.  A few feather-like spines sprouted from the back of her head.  Before now, the scales had all been visible, but there was no color.  Now, a wave of yellow passed from the tip pf her snout to her tail tip, augmented by brown stripes across her back vertically and limbs horizontally.  She cocked her head and regarded him with one eye.  The shift was complete, and she was nearly fifteen feet long.

_~My raptor morph,~_ she informed him, her mind transmitting to his in a way he thought only telepaths possible of.  _~Big enough to carry everything!~_ Her tail swung slowly from side to side.

"Um…how exactly are ve going to keep ze things on?" he asked.  She raised her head, mouth slightly open, and then lowered it again.  Her tail stopped moving.

_~I don't know,~_ she admitted  _~I hadn't really thought of it.~_  She thought on the problem for a moment, then looked at him hopefully.  _~Maybe you could ride on me and hold the things on.~_ Kurt gaped at her.

"Ride…?" he said.  "You…?"  She shrugged, the gesture out of place on the similarly out of place body.

_~I wouldn't mind if you don't,~_ she said.  She flexed her hind legs.  _~I'm strong enough.~_ He shrugged as well. 

"Okay, then," he said.  She immediately crouched low to the ground and tugged the strap of the black hand bag around her neck.  At her direction, Kurt also slid the chest over and she clutched it in her clawed forearms.  She sidled over to the pile of stuff and crouched again.  Kurt hesitantly straddled her back, toes barely touching the ground, and pulled her suitcase, backpack, duffel bag and computer bag onto her.  She flinched slightly, but he resettled the things so they were easiest for him to hold and most comfortable on her back.  He kept one hand free to hold on, and she carefully stood.

_~You okay up there?~_ she asked.

"_Ja_," he replied, one hand resting on her back.  She set off in a smooth yet purposeful stride, and he directed her through the halls.  They passed up out of the lower levels and into the ones above ground.  Their path took them past the rec room, whose door was open.  A gaggle of the younger X-Men in training were in there, watching TV, and the few who noticed her stared.  She eyed them back and was gone.

_~Who were they?~_ she asked Kurt.

"Younger students," he explained.  "Who haven't yet managed to become actual X-Men."  The raptor head nodded, and they continued on their way.  

After they dropped her things in her room, Kurt took her around the mansion, showing her the most important spots.

"I'm never going to remember any of this," she complained to him.  "I have the worst memory!"

"Zen I'll be sue to help you remember," he said.  "So vill any of the others.  Don't vorry about it!"  She smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks in advance," she said.

"It vill be no problem," he said.  "Now, I'll show you vhere ze kitchen is.  I'm hungry!"

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

So then…review!  Please please please!!  And I leave you saying, "I bid you, ado!"

((My sister made me put that….))

Oh yeah, disclaimer thing: I don't blah blah blah, you know what I'm going to say.  Oh, Janella's mine.  Yeah.   Bye!


	5. Just a Test

Guess who figured out how to hook her laptop up to the Internet!!  That's right, I did!  ((This is a big thing for me.  Electronics and I don't get along well!))  Anyway. It's currently 1:17 a.m.  Neato!  I'm sleep deprived!  I'm also going on vacation tomorrow…for two weeks…with no Internet.  O.O So don't expect any updates for a while!  However…I will have my laptop with me and as a result be able to continue writing the whole time!  Yay!!

Thank you once again to those who reviewed!!  Here is another chapter for your reading pleasure!!

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They had went to get Janella on a Thursday, so the next day, Friday, was still a school day for the older kids, who hadn't finished taking final exams yet.  The earliest riser was always Scott, followed closely by Kurt and Rogue.  The other girls, even if they woke as early as Scott and Kurt, often didn't come down until much later, since they needed to 'prepare for the day."  Evan was usually last one down.  He always slept late.

            Scott was very thoroughly surprised then, when Janella came into the kitchen at six in the morning.  She stretched and yawned, and though her hair was a mess, she looked otherwise awake. He looked at her over his sunglasses.

            "Why are you up so early?" he asked.  She glanced at the clock.

            "Early?  I'm up late!  I usually get up at five thirty!" she exclaimed.  He nearly dropped his spoon into his bowl of Cheerios.   

            "Why?" he asked incredulously.

            "My bus down in Jersey picked me up at six thirty," she explained, looking for a bowl to get some cereal of her own.  "I liked to have a lot of time to prepare myself…and finish any homework I might have neglected!"  She chuckled, and Scott directed her to the appropriate cabinet for bowls and drawer for spoons.  She poured herself some Raisin Bran Crunch, splashed it with milk, and sat down opposite Scott. She took a bite, and they regarded each other across the table.

            "So," Janella said, breaking the silence.  "You guys still have school?"  Scott nodded.

            "Yeah," he said, though it came out a half groan.  "I technically don't even have to go today.  I'm exempt from both of the finals I have!"  Janella nodded.  

            "Why are you up so early?" she asked.  He chuckled.

            "I drive the others to school."  Janella smiled.

            "_Yo veo,_" she said softly in Spanish, repeating after in English, "I see."  There was silence for a few moments as they applied themselves to their cereals.  It was too early for really coherent speech.  Just as the silence began to get uncomfortable, Kurt appeared with a bamf in the kitchen.

            "I'm sooooo hungry!" he complained, honing in on the cabinet and assembling a bowl of cereal faster than Janella had ever seen anyone do.  He set it down on the table and pulled a chair over in one fluid movement.  His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he noticed Janella for the first time.  He tried to speak through a mouthful of cereal, nearly choked, and had to stop and swallow before trying again.

            "_Was_ are you doing up?" he asked.  She rolled her eyes and gave a straightforward answer this time.  

            "Habit," she said with a dramatic sigh.  Both of the young men chuckled, and all three applied themselves once again to their food.  Gradually, others trickled in, and those who had already eaten vacated the table to make room for them.  Janella wandered back to her room, and the kids departed.  She waved at them through the window, and then picked up her laptop.  It was sitting atop her dresser, plugged in, charging.  She pulled the plug from it, and tucking it snugly under one arm, headed out of her room to the beautiful gardens she had been shown last night.  She chose a tree that was slightly out of the way and leaned back against it, crossing her legs and opening her laptop on them.  She pressed the power button and let her mind and gaze wander as the thing booted up.  This really was a beautiful place, and deep inside her she was glad she chose to come.  She turned her mind to the main problem at hand: How much should she tell them of her family in New Jersey?

            She brought up a word document and allowed her fingers to type what they pleased while her mind considered her dilemma. It snapped into a conscious decision.  She wouldn't hide it from the Professor if he wanted to know, because she couldn't, but if she could prevent the others from finding out, she would.  She read over what she had written and deleted it.  Just useless dookie.

            She had just pulled up one of her actual projects when, to her surprise; she heard the Professor's voice in her head, summoning her.  She shut down her computer with a few taps of a button and detoured to her room so she could drop it off before descending into the lower levels where the Professor was waiting for her.  He guided her to a large doorway, and was waiting outside it with Wolverine.  She vaguely recognized it from her tour with Kurt the previous day, but he hadn't really shown her that much of these underground areas.  

            "Greetings, Janella," the Professor said genially.  "I've called you down here today because we need to assess how much control you have over your powers."  Janella nodded. 

            "Okay," she said.  "What do you need me to do?"

            "You and Logan will enter this chamber, the Danger Room," he explained.  "This is where my X-Men train, so the activity will serve the dual purpose of familiarizing you with the Danger Room and providing us with a rundown of your basic abilities."

            "Works for me, Professor," Janella said.  Logan nudged her.

            "Enjoy this first time while you can kid," he said.  "We'll be going easy on you, since it's your first time."  Her eyes widened slightly, but she smiled, a crooked grin that was slightly unnerving.  Professor X went up towards the control center, and the door opened, and Logan led the girl into the room.  She expected a large room, so was surprised to find herself in a seemingly endless field.  The sun was up and shining brightly, and she and Logan were standing alone in the middle of it.  Professor Xavier's voice boomed out from nowhere, filling the space.

            "See, the thing about the Danger Room is that it can stimulate any environment, and situation you want," he said, "which makes it an ideal accessory for training."

            "I see," Janella said.  

            "This is just for our assessment.  Usually, there are a few more geographic features, not to mentions the dangers after with the room is named."  Janella acknowledged this, and the Professor's voice was gone, leaving her and Logan alone again.  He turned to her.

            "Okay," he said.  "Shift for me.  Right now.  The first thing that comes to your mind."  Janella immediately grew the wings and tail of the shift she had gone into when Reno had spooked her early yesterday.  She ran her tongue over her two new fangs and looked at Logan.

            "Pretty impressive, kid," Logan commented.  "Are you that fast with all of them?"  She shook her head.  

            "Regrettably, no," she said.  "The three humanoid forms are quick, but the three less humanoid ones take a little longer, and I can't do them I one go.  I need to rest and do them in stages."

            "Let me see them, one at a time," Logan commanded, taking a step back.  Janella took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated.  The membrane lining her wings stiffened and splintered into feathers, paling to white as they did so.  Her hair changed from black to an almost silver blond, and her eyes too paled, to bright, beautiful blue.  She paused for a moment before changing again.

            The fangs of the first form reemerged, but not as prominently as before.  Her ears changed shape, becoming cup shaped and pointed, and they moved to the top of her head.  Her hair became entirely bright red, and grew extremely long, braiding itself up.  A fringe of short red hairs formed a cloud about her head, as a bushy tail the same auburn color as the ears sprouted from right above her rear.  As the final change in this form, the blue eyes changed to bright green, the pupils elongating into slits.  Her tail swished from side to side as she turned to Logan.  

            "Those are the three humanoids," she told him.   "I can speak orally in those, and…um, yeah.  Here are the three non-humanoid."

            She took a deep breath and immediately the changes of the raptor form began in her.  She paused partially through like she always did to re-gather her strength and re-focus her concentration, and quickly finished up.  She swung her tail from side to side before kicking up and lashing out into the air, displaying the curved sickle claws that were among a raptor's deadly weapons.  She landed lightly on her feet and glanced at Logan.  Taking another deep breath, she began the change into the black and red dragon she had shown to Kurt, Ororo, and Jean.  She winked at Logan and spread her wings.

            _~This form has an added perk,~_ she informed him.  He started.  

            "You said that?" Logan asked.  She nodded.  

            _~In any form that crosses the line into the bestial side of life has to be communicated through like this,~ _she said.  She opened her mouth to show a forked tongue and backwards-pointing, serrated and sharp teeth.  _~Completely incapable of human speech as we know it.~ _Logan nodded.  

            "I see," he said.   "You mentioned a perk?"

            _~Yep.  Watch.~_ With that, she leapt into the air and spread her wings wide.  They had to span at least 25 feet, and her body, when neck and tail were fully stretched, was at least twenty feet.  As he watched, she disappeared, reappearing on his other side.  She continued to blink in and out in dizzying circles around him.  Eventually, she stopped and set back down on the ground.  

            "Impressive," Logan conceded.  "Only in that one?"  She nodded, and taking another deep breath, set into the third change.

            This was another dragon, but a smaller one. Her black scales changed to sliver, and the red spines to deep blue.  They all lengthened, the spines, and lighter blue webbing sprang up between them.  The cluster of spikes on the end of the tail disappeared, and was replaced by two, webbed, curving ones.  The red webbing between the spines of her head frills disappeared also, and the horns shifted position, straightening out slightly and pointing now behind her.  A third one grew between the two, and curved slightly up.  She cocked a solid black eye at Logan as one of the digits on each forepaw disappeared.  She clicked her tongue rapidly against the roof of her mouth and lashed her supple tail back and forth a few times before changing back to human form.  

            "Not bad, kid," Logan said.  "Are those the only things you can change into?"  She shook her head.

            "I can do other things, but it takes a while if I haven't done them before.  I've experimented with others, but none come quite as easily as the ones I've shown you."

            "Alright.  Have you had any training in hand-to-hand combat of any type?"  Janella smirked.  

"I guess you could say that," she said.  Logan unsheathed his claws and, taking her completely by surprise, charged her, claws held in front of him offensively.  She took a step back and leapt instinctively into the air, wings almost magically open.  She arced over his head and, with a deft twist of her wings, dropped out of the air, feet first.  She nailed Logan in the back and knocked him forward.  He caught himself and whirled at her, arms wide, but she had used her momentum to flip off his back and back into the air.  She dropped to the ground and whirled, one leg extended.  He blocked it and then grabbed it, immobilizing her.  She brought her other legs up underneath her and lashed out at him with it.  The impact probably hurt her more than him, but it startled him into loosening his hold.  She planted her foot on his chest and pushed off, freeing her leg and knocking him back.  She planted both feet firmly on the ground and leapt into the air, crossing her arms and flapping her wings slowly.  Logan stood and retracted his claws.

"Not bad," he said again.  "Better than most new recruits I've seen.  Where'd you learn that?"  She carefully let herself down on the ground, wings and tail disappearing back into her.  

"My stepmothers are women of many myriad talents," she said. She ran past him and, taking a running jump, launched into an energetic round-off.  When she landed it, she had sprouted the wings and tail again, and used to the momentum to arc backwards into the air again.  She completed a loop and landed in front of him.  

"Are there any other talents like those I should know about?" Logan asked her.  She shrugged.

"Some say I'm acrobatic," she said, jumping into a midair somersault.  She landed in almost the same place.  "Some say I'm agile."  She pantomimed rapidly climbing a tree.  "Some sat I have fast reflexes."  At this near boast, Logan extended the claws of his right hand and swung at her as fast as he could.  She ducked under his arm and grabbed it, stopping it dead.  She smirked.  "Some say I'm strong."

"No shit," he muttered, pulling his arm from her grasp.  She let him have it.  "That was pretty impressive, short stack."

"Very good, Janella," the Professor's voice said from nowhere again. "That's all for today.  You may go."  A door swung open off to her left.  It opened out of nowhere, but she could clearly see the mansion through it.  She shrugged, wings sagging slightly.

"Okay, Professor X," she called walking through the door.  She waved back.  "Bye!"  She turned the corner and darted off.  She was gone.

"Logan too moved out of the room, the door shutting automatically behind him.  He walked up to the control room and stepped inside.

"Well?" the Professor asked, looking up.

"She's good," Logan said, leaning against the doorframe.  

"I'd noticed," the Professor said.

"She needs a lot of work on her powers," Logan said, "but that's not my field."  The Professor nodded acknowledgement.  "However, in regards to her ability to fight physically, there's not much I can do for her, aside from polishing her abilities, honing her reflexes, and trying to improve her reaction times."

"They seemed fast to me," the Professor remarked.

"They could be faster," Logan growled.  "I was moving slowly."  Professor X chuckled.  "Who are these stepmothers she talked about?" Logan continued.  "If they taught her to fight like that, I'd like to meet them."

"I'm not sure yet, " Professor X admitted.  "She requested privacy on the matter, though I'm not sure why, and I'll respect that unless it becomes apparent that withholding the knowledge is dangerous to her and the other students."  Logan shrugged.

"Oh well," he said.  "If it's her business, it's her business."  He left the room with a nonchalant wave at the Professor.  

"Yes," the Professor said to himself, clasping his hands thoughtfully.  "It is her business, isn't it?"  

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

So.  It's late.  I'm tired.  My Neopets RP partners are all signed off.  It's 2:00 a.m.  ((Okay, so I was doing thins in between writing this and writing the first a/n!!))  I think it's high time for this tired…person to cuddle with her Movie-Kurt figure and fall asleep in a desperate attempt to induce Kurt-filled dreams unlike the one I had last noght, which oddly involved the X-Men from the '90s show all flying around (and those who couldn't fly had wings.)  That's what I get for watching the Nightcrawler segment of "The Legend of Wolverine" over and over.  *Rolls eyes.* 

Seeing as it's late, I'm not going to beg for reviews.  Just do it, 'k?

Disclaimer:  I own, Janella, possibly Reno, and…this Kurt action figure.  *Holds it up.*  See?  Super-poseable!  But, other than that, nothing is mine.  *Sigh.*

Reno:  Just so you know, you don't own me.

I don't?  Damn.  Oh well!


	6. Encounters about Town

Right.  I'm back from my vacation and thoroughly tanned!  Woo!  I was looking for flit eggs…but I didn't find any.  Ah well. 

MetaChi:  I went to da beach!  Wait, I take that back.  I went to the shore…the Jersey Shore!  Yeah.  Just thought you oughta know…I wanna X2 again too!  But I don't think it's in theatres anymore…*Sobs* Now I have to wait for it to come out on DVD!!!   *Sniff* I'm gonna go watch 'Reign of Fire' and take my mind off of it.  Oddly cool in a odd sort of way!  My dream focused mostly on Gambit though…*Shrugs* Must be my growing fascination with angels…

And now; the fic!!!

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Janella was in the garden again when the students came home from school.  She was typing determinedly on her laptop, which was placed on her crossed legs.  One of her thin forward braids was tucked behind her ear, but the other was dangling forward.  She pushed it irritably back behind its own ear, but it kept perversely falling forward.  There was an open can of soda balanced on a rock by her left knee, and a few comic books on the ground by her right side.  

            She still had her wings, but they were crossed behind her, the joints where the pinions and wing claws were attached tipped out to either side, and the ends of the pinions were braced against the ground.  As she worked, her tail came forward and wrapped around the can of soda, bringing it to her lips.  She tipped back her head and took a long swallow, pausing in her typing only when her eyes left the keys, and resuming again as soon as they tipped back down.  Without moving her eyes from her work, she set the can back on the rock.  She licked the residue from her lips.  The only indication that she was even still alive was the fact that her tail tip twitched occasionally and the small movements of her arms and eyes as she worked.

            "_Was_ are you vorking on?" a voice said next to her ear.  She started and shied away, tipping the laptop from her lap.  She sprawled on the ground; wings spread out on either side and tail lashing furiously.  She bared her teeth and hissed at her attacker.

            Kurt just looked at her and laughed.  He was hanging from the tree by his tail, and was doing his best to keep from falling.  He flipped himself up and grabbed the branch, and then dropped lightly to his feet.

            When Janella realized it was him, she relaxed, and got up off the ground.  She glared at him.

            "That was so not funny," she snapped, crossing her arms.  He smiled at her.

            "Yes it vas," he informed her, crossing his arms.  She laughed.

            "Whatever, pal," she said, gathering up her laptop and checking it for damage.  "If anything happened to this thing, I'll…" She let the threat trail off, and convinced herself it was fine.

            "You'll _was_?" Kurt asked mockingly.

            "Do nothing," she said, adding ominously, "this time.  It's fine."  She stood and glanced at Kurt, smiling crookedly at him.  "You guys got back early," she remarked.

            "Oh, _ja,_" he remarked.  "Ve have only half days in ze last veek of school." 

            "Hey, my school did that!" she exclaimed, tucking the laptop under her arm.  She yawned and stretched.  "I think I was sitting there too long," she said.  "I'm hungry!"  Kurt laughed.

            "_Was_ a coincidence!  I am too!"  Janella rolled her eyes.  "As a matter of fact, ze others sent me to ask you if you vant to go out and celebrate ze last day of school vith us."  

            "Really?" Janella asked.  Kurt nodded.  "Okay then!  I'd love too!"  

            "Vell, come on!"  He grabbed her hand and began to pull her around towards the front of the mansion.

            "Wait!" she said.  "I need to put my laptop in my room!"  She pulled her hand from his grasp and sprinted for the nearest door.  He caught up to her and put his hand on her shoulders.

            "You forget zat I'm ze best shortcut around," he said with a smile before bamfing with her into her room.  She smiled widely. 

            "I'll have to forget less, then," she said, finding the plug for her computer and sticking it in the wall to recharge.  She hunted through one of her bags and found some money, which she stuck in her pocket.  She turned back to Kurt.  With a smile and a mocking bow, he held out his now disguised hand, which she just as mockingly accepted.  He teleported them down to right in front of Scott's car.

            "Found her!" Kurt said triumphantly.  The older boy leaned out the window and gestured to them.

            "Then get in!" he said.  She opened the door and shifting quickly back to human form, hopped in beside Evan, and Kurt squeezed in beside her.  He shut the door, and Scott revved the engine.

            "Where to, guys?" he asked.  

            "The mall!"  "The skate park!"  "How 'bout a movie?"  "I'm hungry!  Let's get food!"  Hearty agreement met this, and thus a debate on where to go started.  Eventually, the mutual agreement to go out for pizza was reached, and so Scott pulled out of the driveway, and they took off. 

            It didn't take long to reach a pizza place no one objected to, but finding a table big enough for them all took a moment.  The staff ended up pushing two tables together, and they were seated.  Orders were placed, and drinks were soon served.  Janella sipped a root beer, and conversation started, mostly directed towards her.   The pizza had just arrived when Evan looked up intently at the entrance.

            "Uh-oh," he said.  "Here comes trouble."  All the others looked up.

            "I don't believe this," Scott snapped.  

"Can't they just leave us alone?" Rogue asked.  Janella looked up at the four boys just entering the restaurant.

"Who're they?" she asked, leaning in close to Kurt.  

"They're the Brotherhood," he told her.  

"Yeah," Evan added.  "It's like their whole purpose in life is too hassle us!"

"Well, that sucks," Janella said, crossing her arms.  Those on either side of her nodded their agreement.  

"No one look at them," Scott instructed.  "Maybe they won't see us."  The other young mutants nodded and followed his order, bending to their pizza and looking anywhere but at the entrance, where the Brotherhood stood.  Janella hazarded one glance up at them, and unfortunately caught the eye of a tall thin boy with slicked back white hair.  She ducked her eyes back down, but it was too late.  He had seen her, and the rest of the X-Men sitting there.  There was a blur, and he was standing in front of the table, arms crossed.  The other three boys in the Brotherhood were moving through the restaurant, and soon backed the thin boy.  

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the thin boy asked, speaking quite rapidly.  It took a moment for Janella's brain to register the individual words, and by that time, he had whizzed around the table and was standing behind her chair.  She craned her head back and looked at him.

"Leave her alone, Pietro," Scott snapped from the other side of the table.  "It's her first full day in Bayville."

"Ah, I see," Pietro said.  He struck a pose.  "Showing her the best things the town has to offer?"  Janella made a face.

"Maybe I shoulda stayed in Joisey," she said.  He blushed furiously.

"Maybe we'll just have to knock you back there," he threatened.  She spun in her chair and got up on her knees.

"You wanna take this outside, punk?" she asked, snapping her fingers back and forth in front of her face.  "I've dealt with creeps like you all my life!  I bet I could knock your punk ass down!"

"Hey," one of the others, a weedy, dirty-looking boy said, piping up.  "You stole that line from Men In Black!"  Janella turned her fierce gaze on him.

"So?" she snapped.  "You got a problem with it?"  He ducked under her gaze.

"Uh, no, not really, no."

"I didn't think so."

"Come on, guys," Pietro snapped.  "We're leaving."

"What?  Why?" the dirty one asked, clearly disappointed.

"Because.  I said so."  Pietro herded the others back to the door.  He turned back to Janella and pointed fiercely at her.  "We'll be seeing you around later," he said threateningly.  "Count on it!"

"I'll be looking forward to it!" Janella called with a mocking wave.  He glared and whirled, slamming out the door.  As soon as he was gone, Janella broke down laughing.  "What a macho egotist!" she gasped out.  She sat back in her chair, and, recomposing herself, picked up her pizza, folded it in half, and took a bite.  She glanced around the table.  "What?" she asked, noticing a good bit of staring.

"Ah don't think I've seen anybody put them in their place so well so soon aftah getting here," Rogue commented.  The others nodded in agreement.  Janella shrugged.

"I've visited the Big Apple often enough to have picked up a bit of their attitude," she said.

"Obviously," Evan said.  She smiled, and took another bite of her pizza before letting out a huge sigh.

"Something wrong?" Scott asked.

"Is there anywhere in the world that makes pizza as good as they do in New Jersey?!" she asked exasperatedly.  They all laughed.

Janella laid her head on her knees.  She was in her room, and it was late.  After pizza, they had gone around town, showing the new girl all the places to hang out-when they had spare time.  They also explained to her what was so bad about the Brotherhood.  

It had been quiet for a while now, even though the sun had gone down hours ago.  Janella just wasn't tired though.  Being in this new place made her tense with excitement.  That, coupled with the fact that she never was able to go to sleep early, resulted in an insomnia doubtless to last far into the wee hours of the morning.  She yawned and stretched, and decided she needed to get out.  She opened her window and climbed delicately onto the windowsill.  Shifting quickly to the dragon-winged form, she spread her wings and silently slipped from the window.  She soared up into the sky, cool wind caressing her hair, and made the decision to fly straight instead of going between.  She went up high and made a circuit of the town.  There was very little movement below, and all was still where she wanted to go: the playground.  As she carefully set down in the abandoned play area, a single light shining above and casting deep shadows all around, she glanced about, ascertaining the fact that she was alone.

She sat down on one of the swings, wings pressed tight to her back.  She pushed herself back and forth a few times before pushing herself up on her toes and into the familiar childhood rhythm of back and forth, back and forth.  As she swung, her vest and tail were alternately blown back behind her, then against her.  She took a deep breath and began to sing softly to herself.

"Give up, if you wanna survive

Get oh some light

In your life

Everything, falling out the sky

On top of you

Now what you do?

Set yourself up now

It's the love of your life

She'll lean on me

All I know

The forest gone, I always feel it's getting me down

When nothing's wrong.

So what's the matter with me?

What's the matter with me?

What's the matter with me?

What's the matter with me-e-eee?

Give up, if you wanna survive

Pick this up and go, you've got

To get on the song, lowly

What's the point?

It's funny 'till you're left to kill yourself

In this town.

So what's the matter with me?

What's the matter with me?

What's the matter with me?

What's the matter with me-e-eee?"

"I don't know," a familiar, haughty voice said from directly in front of her.  "Why don't you tell me?"  Janella opened her eyes (she had closed them while swinging) and was only mildly surprised to find the Brotherhood ranged in front of her.

"If I knew," she remarked, flipping the swing over so her legs were braced against the chains and arching her back to look at them right side up, "I wouldn't be singing the song, would I?"  Pietro and the others didn't seem fazed by her somewhat dangerous move.

"I don't think we were properly introduced earlier," he said.  "I'm Pietro.  Pietro Maximoff.  Nice to meet you."  Janella flipped herself right side up, tail lashing nervously back and forth.  The young X-Men had warned her about these guys, and as she looked over them, she could see why.

"I'd return the sentiment," she said in high-pitched voice, meant to imitate the nasal speech of a young child, "but it's a little late, and my mommies told me never to talk to strangers.  My mommies are usually right."  Pietro blushed again.

"Mommies?" one of the other boys, Lance they had said his name was, asked.  "As in the plural?"

She snickered.  "As in the plural," she stated.  She looked around.  She didn't like the way this was going.  The Brotherhood had ranged out around her in a rough circle around.

"Hey, lookit this!" one of them said behind her.  She pivoted to see…what was his name?  Todd?  Yeah, that was it…seize her tail and give it a yank.  "We've got us another Nightcrawler on our hands!"  She pulled it angrily from his grasp and, with a whip-like motion so fast only Pietro could follow it, slashed it back and forth across his face, drawing two thin lines of blood.  

"If only," she said with a smirk.  "I'll warn you now, I'm much more dangerous."  She stepped from the swing and leapt to the supporting beam.  She crouched there and looked down, wings spread slightly for balance.  She was knew how to take care of herself, but hoped it wouldn't come to that.  Glaring furiously at the girl, Todd hopped up on the beam opposite her.  

"Are ya really?" he asked mockingly.  "Prove it!"  As he watched, she changed, and soon there was a copy of him seated on the beam.  His jaw dropped, and she smirked.  Then, she snarled furiously in his face, exposing two long fangs and the rest of the teeth that were rapidly lengthening and sharpening.  She stood and, spreading her arms elegantly, leaped off the beam.  She turned a somersault above Pietro's head and, pivoting her body in midair, landed facing them, feet spread and firmly planted in the woodchips that surrounded the swing set.  By the time she hit the ground, she was fully transformed into a raptor.  She dropped her lower jaw, hissing furiously.

The Brotherhood could only stare, eyes wide, at the shapeshifting girl.  

"Uh, you know," Todd said nervously, "I just I remembered I left something on, uh, the stove at home."  He leapt down from the swing set and began backing away.  The other two quickly followed his move.

"Hey!" Pietro snapped, seeing his force melt away around him.  "Where are you-?"  Janella stepped ominously towards him, and, realizing the rest of the Brotherhood wasn't coming, turned tails and fled with them.  

Standing straight, Janella shifted back to her preferred, winged form.  She smirked to herself and turned, deciding to head back to the mansion.   

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Wow, what a long chapter.  *Shakes head*  Hmm…anyway.  Did you know this story has fourteen chapters written?  It does!  Yep.  Right.  

Did you know that Kurt figures are conveniently good Rummikub players?  It's true!  I played the game a lot at the beach, and I won a lot, but only when I had Kurt with me!  Otherwise, I stunk…freaky, no?  Yes.  Yes it is.

So…review please!!  Please please please!!!!   Please?  Hee, I'm so pathetic!

Disclaimer:  Do you actually think I own anything other than Janella?  I don't.  I don't own Evo, Rummikub, or 'Latin Simone,' which is the Gorillaz song above.  I do, however, own my watermelon patterned retainers…which are missing at the moment…I have to find them now…BYE!!


	7. Time for bed, X, it's getting early

Jus' a short little chapter thingy.  Yeah…

Tewks:  really?  You really do?

MetaChi:  Guess what kind of comics they are…heh heh heh…Zim…DVD…O.O  Must get!!  I'd love to help you with your fic!  But on one condition:  In _Bob, _I get to have my Kurt figure there.  'Cause he's so cool!  

Psyco:  Don't worry!  I will!

Ellina:  Wow, someone who actually knows what a Mary Sue is.  Amazing.  But I agree, she is Mary-Sue-esque, though not entirely MS.  No tragic past, no making all of the main male charas fall in love with her instantly (Phew) and no death at the end!  Yay!!

Right.  So.  Chapter!

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Janella was very surprised to find that he mansion was not entirely asleep like she assumed when she snuck back in through her window and then downstairs for a snack.  Sitting at the table was a remarkably alert Kurt, who looked up in surprise when she entered.  She blushed when she saw him, realizing at that moment she was in deep shit.  He was wearing pajamas, and she was still in street clothes.

            "_Hallo,_" he said, slightly slurring his words.  "_Was_ are you doing up?" 

            "I never went to sleep," she said, stretching and yawning widely.  "You?"

            "I'm alvays up about now," he explained.  "I get hungry."  She snickered.  She had been here barely two days and already knew about his infamous appetite.  Even now, he had a box of cookies and a huge glass of milk.  She got herself some milk and sat, pulling the cookies towards her.  She looked up at the clock and blinked.

            "Gah.  It's far too late," she commented, taking a drink of milk.  He nodded.

            "_Ja_," he agreed.  There was silence for several minutes.  It really was too late for talking, and Janella realized that she was finally getting tired.  Figures it was when she was sitting at a table with someone was when she was the least coherent.  She yawned and stretched again, which stimulated her circulatory system and perked her up a little.

            "So," Kurt said, breaking the silence.

            "So," Janella replied.

            "_Was_ do you think of ze Institute so far?" he asked. 

            "Well," he said slowly, munching a cookie and considering her answer.  "I'm certainly glad I came.  I don't think I'll regret my choice, and I really hope I get to become an X-Man.  That sounds…interesting."  Kurt chuckled.

            "Zere's never a dull moment, I'll tell you zat," he said.  Janella grinned.

            "That's good," she said.  "I need a lot of excitement in my life."  She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms behind her head.  "Else, I get bored.  And when I'm bored, I'm dangerous."  She grinned, snapping a cookie in half, dipped it in her milk and ate it.  She yawned again, inadvertently this time, and the action unbalanced her.  Her chair tipped over with a splintering crash, and she sprawled unceremoniously on the floor.  Kurt laughed once, then tried to look serious as he went over and helped her up.

            "I think you need to get to bed," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching.

            "Yes," she murmured.  "Time for bed, X, it's getting early."

            "X? Who's X?"

            "Mmmm…Vin Diesel…" Kurt rolled his eyes.

            "You vatch far too many movies," he said as he helped her to her feet.  She laughed, and them pushed him off.  She straightened and shook her head.

            "I can take it from here," she said.  "I think."  She smiled warmly at him.  "Thanks for your help though."  He waved jauntily as she stumbled off towards the nearest staircase that led upstairs.  She wandered to her room and, stripping her clothes and tossing them in corner, collapsed into bed.  Suddenly, she was quite tired.

            _I really think I'm going to like it here, _she thought with a smile on her face as she drifted off to sleep.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Gah.  I don't like this chapter much.  Man, does she crash fast!  o.O  Anyways…More movie quotes!  Heeheehee!

Hmm.  Can't really think of anything else to say…oh!

Disclaimer:  I don't own "xXx."  *Sigh.*  I don't own Vin Diesel.  *Double sigh.*   I don't own 'X-Men: Evolution.'  *Super sigh*  I do, however, own Janella, this copy of the X2 Movie Novelization, this copy of the Legacy Quest Trilogy Volume one, and this Kurt action figure.  Sue me, and these are what you get.  Well, maybe not the figure…


	8. Man I could sure use some ice cream

"Suffice to say, it is one of the word the knights of Ni cannot hear!"  But…he said it.  Right there.   O.O  Anyway:

MetaChi: If you know what kind they are, why don't you tell me? *Winks*  Noo!  I won't share!  Never!  *Hugs figure tight*  They need a Zim marathon.  *Nods sagely*

Look people!  This chapter's longer!!  And a mission is started!!  Woot!

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

It was one of those summer days that made you want to lock yourself inside with a freezer full of ice cream, a million DVDs, and an A/C going on full blast.  It was hot and humid, and a low bank of heavy clouds seemed to trap the air and suffocate all breezes.  So that's what most of the students were doing:  lounging in the rec room, watching Reign of Fire.  Only Janella wasn't there.  She was…she was…well, no one was exactly sure where she was, but it was too hot to care.  In fact, a moment later, she walked in; laptop tucked unsurprisingly under one arm.

            "Hey, Reign of Fire!  I love this-" she started.

            "Shh," Kitty said.  "It's, like, way too hot!"  Janella shrugged, and, crossing her legs underneath her, sat on the floor next to one of the couches.  She opened her laptop on her lap, but set it to one side, watching the movie.  There were a few moments of relative silence.              

"You know, those dragons are so inaccurate," Janella remarked.  "They're not even dragons!  They're wyverns!!"  Kurt, who was the only one close enough to hear her softly muttered comment, turned and quirked an eyebrow.

"_Was_ are you talking about?" he asked, quietly so as not to disturb the others.

Janella gestured.  "People always think that any creature with wings that breathes fire is a dragon, but that just isn't true," she said, also keeping her voice low but filling it with intensity.  "A true dragon has four limbs, two forward and two back, and a pair of wings, which can, depending on breed and origin, can either be modified ribs or a third pair of limbs.  A wyvern, however, only has two pairs.  One pair remained hind legs, for standing and walking, and the other pair is what evolved into wings."  The girl crossed her arms with a snort.  "Other than that one gross inaccuracy, it's truly a good movie, and I love the way it's animated!"  Kurt shook his head.

"I can't believe you know zat," he said, sitting back and watching the movie again.  Janella shrugged and continued to watch also.  A moment later, the rec room doors blew open and a chill breeze blew through the room, refreshing the people inside.

"Do that again, Auntie O," Evan said with a sigh, without looking up.  Ororo stepped into the room, and the young X-Men looked up and saw se was in her uniform.  Immediately, Scott was on his feet, followed by the other five older X-Men.  The younger ones deliberately looked away.  If it was a mission, they were unlikely to be allowed to come.  They were right.  Ororo gestured to the six older ones.  

"Come, guys," she said.  "The Professor needs to see you."  They nodded and, one-by-one, filed out of the room.  Ororo turned to go to, but stopped and glanced at Janella, almost as an afterthought.  "Janella," she said.  "You come too."  Janella looked up incredulously.  

"Really?" she asked.  Ororo nodded, and by the time she was halfway through a gesture for her to get up, the girl was out the door and sprinting to catch up with the others.  The older woman shook her head, smiling ruefully.  She had only looked in on Janella's training in particular a few times, and only trained with her once, but from what the Professor and Logan said, she seemed a natural at what the X-Men did: protect the peace.  She also knew that, in her short time here, the girl had yet to pick a codename.  She hoped she had thought of one, she would need it now.  The Weather Witch realized the younger X-Men were already out of sight, and hurried to catch up.  

When she caught up with the others in the garage, they were all suited up.  Janella's uniform was a metallic silver on the standard black, and resembled Kurt's, except that where he had a red 'V' across the chest, she had an inverted triangle.  Her boots and gloves, which resembled something out of the medieval era, were also silver, and her belt was the standard red and black.  Professor X was also there, and the X-Men gathered around him.  

"One of the candidates for the upcoming election is passing through Bayville today," he said without preamble.  "He's going to make an appearance at the mall, and supposedly give a short speech.  I'd like all of you there as crowd control.  I fear Mystique or Magneto may attempt something there."   They nodded, and at his gesture, moved to board the plane.  "Wait," he called, and as one they stopped.  He looked at Janella.  "You, if I remember right, have yet to get a codename.  Have you managed to think of one yet?"  Janella cocked her head to one side and pressed her fingers to her temples as if trying to draw out an elusive memory.

"I had one," she murmured.  She snapped her fingers suddenly and looked up, a smile lighting her face.  "Mythos," she stated.  "I am Mythos!"

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

I have a grave announcement to make:  I bet you people all though Janella was an OC, yes?  Well, she's not.  She's an SI, I just didn't realize it.  I swear!  Anyway, Mythos-me is wittier, more physically able, a mutant (duh), and a bit less of a smart aleck, though she is just as obsessive and as heavily into the paranormal.  She also tends to be a little less reserved.  Thank you for your attention.

Disclaimer:  You people don't know this by now?  For shame, for shame!  *Shakes finger*  Just for the record, I own very little…mostly Janella.

Random fact:  There is a Sharpie marker tattoo of a wyvern hugging my calf right now.  *Pets it*  Good wyvern!!  ((Guess who's been watching 'Reign of Fire' a lot lately??   And I don't own it, either!!  Though I do own the DVD…))


	9. Skirmish

Okay.  I was watching this show on the Travel Channel, and I saw THE coolest thing.  It was 'The 10 Best Places to Pig Out,' and the fourth one was this omelette place in Seattle.  Anyway, they were showing images of all the weirdo drunk people who come in late at night, and get the odd feeling one of the guys they showed had just come from seeing X2.  Why?  He was painted blue.  Dark blue.  With little raised tattoo things.  Needless to say, I freaked out.

So, that said: MetaChi, you kidnap my Kurt and I'll…I'll…I'll sic Lightwing on you!  Ha!  If she'll cooperate, that is…O.O'  I've been trying to think of an intro for Aragorn and Legolas, but I haven't been having any luck…I'll get in touch with you on that!  *Thinks*  I know there was something here that I wanted to say, but I can't remember it, so, just go read the fic!

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

 Professor X was right.  They spotted the Brotherhood almost immediately, but still weren't sure if Mystique had them come here for a reason, or if it was just a coincidence, so they all made sure to keep them in sight.  It was good for them the Brotherhood was staying in a pack.  The Professor and Ororo stayed outside with the truck, for backup, but the rest, covered with trench coats to hide their uniforms, were inside.  At the moment, Nightcrawler and Mythos were perusing some odd body jewelry in Hot Topic; Shadowcat was contemplating a cart of cell phones; Rogue was reclining on a bench; Cyclops was waiting in line to get a pretzel; and Jean was 'flirting' with some boys by a central fountain.  They all had a clear line of sight to the Brotherhood, who were basically looking like a group of punk kids hanging out at the mall, and all were alert, looking out for anything out of the ordinary.

            Janella, much to her chagrin, had been instructed to stay close to one of the more experienced X-Men, though she did understand why.  If she froze up, or something went wrong and she proved to be a danger to herself or anyone else, they needed be able to get her out of the way quickly.  Of course, Nightcrawler was a logical choice for that.  

            There was a sudden surge of movement towards one of the entrances of the mall.  Mythos tapped Nightcrawler's shoulder and pointed, and the two of them moved to the exit of the store to see what was happening.  They saw the crowd part in two, and someone, surrounded by a small group of people, move through the part towards the quickly erected platform in the center of the mall.  

            "That must be the candidate," Mythos whispered.  "What's his name? Chamb-Chamberlain?  Yeah, that's it."  Nightcrawler nodded sharply.

            "_Ja_," he said, before adding, "Let's get closer."  Mythos nodded, and then moved out into the crowd.  Nightcrawler stuck close behind her, trying to avoid brushing against them.  It was hot in the mall, even with the air conditioning, and most people were wearing very little clothing.  Mythos stopped, and held out an arm to stop Nightcrawler too.  Very, very subtly enhancing her height, she looked around, and spotted most of their other teammates in the crowd gathering in front of the platform.  She also noticed the Brotherhood edging closer as well.  She turned to Nightcrawler. 

            "So there's absolutely no way to tell Mystique apart from regular people when she's shape-changed?" she asked Nightcrawler.  He shrugged.  

            "None zat ve've found, no," he said.  She put a hand to the back of her head.  

            "I don't like that," she murmured.  "Something feels wrong."  She stood tall again and looked around.  Nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that there was a team of mutant peacekeepers and a band of mutant troublemakers in the crowd.  Chamberlain, the Presidential candidate, was standing behind a podium.  The crowd was cheering wildly and applauding, and the guy hadn't even begun to speak yet.  The hair on the back of Mythos' neck stood up for no reason, and she glanced around again.  

            It all happened so fast that it took a discussion amongst them all after it was over to fully piece it together.  First, the ground underneath their feet rocked, bringing most of the spectators to their knees.  Mythos and Nightcrawler grabbed on to each other, and used each other for support.  As a result, they were the first X-Men to pound up the stairs and onto the platform.  The men who had escorted the candidate in were now clustered around him, but she could tell they were being harried by Quicksilver.  Their heads kept jerking every which way, and it didn't help that Toad hung upside-down from the banister above and kept flicking at them with his tongue, confusing them further.  The ground began to tremor again, but on the raised platform, the effect was less noticeable.  Mythos noticed a flash of red light out of the corner of her eye and knew the Avalanche problem was being handled.  A moment later, Shadowcat and Spyke joined them on the platform, but Mythos was already in motion.  She had adjusted her eyes, and they revealed to her the blur that was Pietro.  A well timed thrust of her leg and he was sprawled on the floor.  With a thump, he tumbled off the platform.  Mythos saw a flash of blue hurtle past her, and knew Nightcrawler would be able to handle Toad.  Well, actually, she didn't know it, but she hoped so.  It sure seemed like he could.

            The guards around the candidate seemed thoroughly confused now.  They didn't know who to defend against, or where to shoot, if they could at all.  Actually, their guns would have been useless even if they were against fully human adversaries.  Too many civilians.  The ground had finally stopped moving, but a quick glance told Mythos the main support beams had been fractured.  They'd have to get everyone out of the central section, and fast.  

            Mythos spun as the bold tapping of heels caught her attention.  A woman was stepping boldly onto the platform, and the way she held herself, the way she walked, told Mythos this woman was different.  She had only seen two people in the world walk like that: her stepmothers.  It was the walk of someone who thought she was better than all others, and very assured of this fact.  As this woman walked towards Mythos, she began to change.  It wasn't like when Mythos did it.  Now, when she changed, it was like a telescope going out of focus.  Her whole image blurred, and when it refocused, she was in her new form.  When this woman changed, it was like a wave passed down, revealing the new form in its wake.  When she finally stood in front of Mythos, who had to crane her head up to see her, the girl knew she was meeting Mystique, true face to true face.  Time seemed to slow to a stop as the two confronted each other.  All the mutants stopped what they were doing to watch.

            "You must be Xavier's newest mutant," Mystique stated.  It was a fact, but she made it an insult.  "And what is it exactly, that you can do?"  Mythos looked calmly into Mystique's cold eyes.

"Oh, I don't know," she remarked, even as her form began to blur and change.  In a moment, Mystique was faced with--herself.  "Just a little talent you may be familiar with."  She smirked, and, half-turning, sprouted her demon-wings and tail and launched into the air.  Mystique looked for a moment as if she'd follow, but instead turned and charged between the guards in an attempt to seize the candidate.  Nightcrawler saw her move and intercepted it, dropping onto the blue-skinned mutant and teleporting her outside.  

_Why didn't he do that in the first place?_ Mythos wondered.  She looked around.  It appeared that most of the Brotherhood was out of commission; only Blob was still standing, and struggling with Cyclops and Jean.  Even as she watched from her convenient vantage point, Cyclops fired off a measured blast from his visor and nailed him in the chest.  The very over-large teen stumbled backwards and tripped-

-Smashing right into one of the already compromised support columns.  Mythos winced as a crack splintered all the way up, and the whole thing shifted.  Several small chunks of concrete fell among the now-panicking crowd.  

"Everyone out of the mall now!" Mythos bellowed as loudly as she could, hands cupped around her mouth in an attempt to enhance her volume.  The crowd decided to take her advice, even though it was given by a winged girl hanging about fifteen feet in the air.  The crowd immediately surged towards the exits at the ends of the wings of the mall.  Instantaneously, the X-Men turned their attention from the Brotherhood, who were scrambling for the exits along with the crowd, to any civilians in danger.  As the main support columns splintered and began to disintegrate, they shifted into overdrive.  Cyclops used his optic blasts to destroy chunks before they hit, and Jean used her teke to shield those immobilized by fright and get them moving.  Shadowcat phased people right through the debris, Nightcrawler teleported them outside as fast as he could, and Mythos, Rogue, and Spyke resorted to the simple 'grab people and run' method, though Mythos did take to the air at times to avoid obstacles.

Unsurprisingly, it was not long until the central section of the mall was cleared, and the X-Men received a mental summons to evacuate and meet the Professor and Ororo at their parking spot.  Cyclops led the way, followed closely by Jean and Spyke, then Rogue, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler, and finally Mythos.  For such a frantic skirmish, they had gotten off very well.  The only injury was a small nick on Nightcrawler's face from a shard of glass.  Mythos hung back for a moment, looking around for any stragglers.  She ducked her head against some of the falling debris and, seeing that no one was left and the mall was collapsing around her, turned to leave.

Something slammed into her from behind, sending her tumbling end over end across the debris-strewn floor.

"What the-?" she was flipped over and pinned to the floor.  She had a brief glimpse of…someone, before a series of sharp blows to her abdomen left her gasping for breath.  She curled in on herself, wings spread stiffly behind her.  She felt a blast of wind blow by her, and was left alone.  It all happened in a span of about 3.3 seconds.

About this time, Nightcrawler realized Mythos wasn't behind him, and turned to look for her.  Her saw her on the floor, and also saw something she didn't: a huge chunk of concrete was detaching from the column above her.

It fell with frightening speed.  He barely had time to call out her name when it landed on one of her outstretched wings.  Her high-pitched scream of pain quickly alerted the rest of the X-Men.  Nightcrawler 'ported directly to Mythos' side.  She was lying very still, trying not to make any move that might affect her wing.

"I…think it's broken," she said, voice thick with pain.  He nodded, eyes wide.  It wasn't just broken, he could see it was shattered, but he sure wasn't going to tell her that.  As he knelt by her side, he could see that not only was her wing broken, but there were also small cuts and scrapes all over her face and arms, presumably from debris shattered from the chunk of concrete.  He knelt down and took her hand in his, squeezing it.  She had her bottom lip clenched between her teeth, and her two pointed fangs were drawing blood.  The other X-Men were already coming.  He leaned over her and forced her to look into his eyes.  He had to keep her conscious.

"_Was_ happened?" he asked gently, bracketing her chin with one hand to keep her looking up at him.

"Pietro," she murmured.  Nightcrawler felt the blood rush to his cheeks in a furious blush.  

"Zat spiteful little…" He could feel the cut along his cheekbone well with blood, and as he squeezed Mythos' hand, a few drops rolled off his fine fur and fell onto her face, mingling with the blood there.  The other X-Men gathered around, and he reeled as he felt a burning pain in his left shoulder, at about the place where Mythos' wings attached.  He also felt a dull ache in his midsection, and stinging lines across his face and arms.  He sat back, releasing Janella's hand, and the circle closed around her, but not before he saw the intense pain etched in her face lessen slightly.

"Can't you just shift the wing back into you?" Cyclops was asking Mythos.  She shook her head.  

"I'd have…to get it…out from under…the rock first," she said slowly, spacing her words.  Cyclops frowned, and all of them looked up at Shadowcat, and she nodded, reaching down and seizing Mythos' hand, pulling her up and phasing her wing out from under the chunk of concrete.  Mythos reeled slightly, and Cyclops carefully supported her.  She held her tattered wing out away from her body, and a few of the more squeamish among them had to avert their eyes.  

"I'd shift it in, but that would only intensify the pain," she said as an explanation.  Jean laid her hands very cautiously on the broken wing, and the pain dulled.  Nightcrawler felt the sharp pain in his shoulder dull at the same moment.

Was_ the heck…?_ He wondered.  

"C'mon, Mythos," Cyclops said, placing her arm around his shoulder.  He and Jean assisted her up, and between them, she limped slightly for the entrance.  Rogue and Spyke followed, but Shadowcat turned to see Nightcrawler sitting on the ground.  She offered her hand to him and he accepted it, standing up.

"Like, what's wrong, Nightcrawler?" she asked.  He shook his head, an unnerved expression on his face.

"I don't know," he muttered.  "I really don't know."  

"Come on, guys!" Rogue called from the entrance.  "Let's get outta heyah!"  Nightcrawler sent an apologetic glance to Shadowcat and shrugged.  Then he took her hand and 'ported them to the entrance of the mall.

Storm had driven the truck around, and she and Cyclops were very carefully helping Mythos into it.  After she had gotten settled into the back, stretched out on a seat, the rest piled in.  It was a tight fit, and Shadowcat had to phase partially into the seat to make enough room.  Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable ride back, with Mythos hissing in pain in the back and everyone else squished together in the front.  

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Man, I don't like the end of that chapter.  And I really can't write accents.  I really, really can't write accents!  Hmm.  Did you know that I'm currently working on the 16th chapter of this?  You didn't?  Well, now you do.  And for anyone who cares, the stepmother mystery will be cleared up in the next chapter…or maybe the one after it.  I really can't remember, and am too lazy to go look, so all you readers out there will just have to wait to find out!

You are all still reading, right?

Disclaimer:  Why bother?  You all know this.


	10. The Bond

I don't know why I'm popping these out so fast, but I am.  Maybe it's because, while my inspiration well has dried up for EVERYTHING else I'm writing, there appears to be an inspiration spring for this fic.  *Rolls eyes* Go figure.  I will, however, slow down if my furious writing pace slackens off any.  Just so you know.

MetaChi:  Well, Fangorn Forest or Helm's Deep.  Either one!!  And yes, I did know that.  ^.^  Hee hee.  That guy is freaky, isn't he?  O.O  Good thing that omelette place was in, like Illisnois or something.  Or maybe it's a bad thing….^.~ 

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"You're sure it's all vight zat I go in and see her?" Kurt asked Ororo shyly.  The older woman nodded and smiled reassuringly.

            "Go on in Kurt," she said.  "I'm sure she'd be glad for some company.  Since we're not sure how shifting back to human form would affect her with an injury like that, she got a long and painful recovery ahead of her."  Kurt winced.

            "Really?" he asked.  "How long?"

            "We're not really sure how long it will take the wing to heal," Ororo said, "but we figure it will be a while.  Now get in there."  Ororo smiled, and gave the blue-furred mutant a gentle push towards the door of the infirmary room where Janella had been installed.  

            "_Danke, _Ororo," Kurt said.  

            "You're welcome, Kurt," she said with a smile.  "Now remember, there is a call button in there.  I won't be far, so if you need anything, just press it, alright?"  Kurt nodded, and pushed open the door.  

            Janella was in a two-person room, but they would not be able to install another in here.  The twin beds had been pushed together.  Janella was lying on one, and her injured wing was spread across the other.  She had one arm folded across her abdomen, and was lazily bouncing a paddleball with the other.  She looked p when he entered.

            "_Hola_, Kurt," she said brightly, though there was a tinge of pain in her voice.

            "_Hallo_, Janella," he replied. 

            "Hey, whatcha got there?" she asked, looking at a bundle in his hands.  He smiled and came over, setting it on the edge of the bed.  She glanced quizzically at the blanket wrapped bundle, and pulled back some of the fabric.

            "My laptop!" she said happily.  She slid the blanket off the rest of the stuff, reveling her charge cables, CD collection, and some DVDs.  Her eyes lit up, and he figured if she smiled any wider the top of her head would fall off.

            "I figured it vould help pass ze time," Kurt explained, now smiling himself.  

            "Oh man, Kurt, if I could throw my arms around you right now, rest assured I would!" she said with a laugh.  The injudicious movement swept a wave of pain through her body, starting from her midsection.  She doubled up on herself, which moved her wing, which caused another wave of pain.  Kurt knew the movements had to hurt, but was shocked he felt an echo of them in him.  The moment he felt that echo, the pain in her lessened just that much.  She lay back on her bed, trying to take deep calming breaths and relax.  Kurt hooked a chair with his tail and pulled it over to himself before sitting heavily.

            "_Was_ the heck vas zat?" he asked quietly, after a moment of silence.  Janella shook her head.

            "I…I don't know," she said finally.  They both fell silent, and Janella bit her lip, appearing deep in thought. "Y'know…" she said finally.  "I've read of a…ritual among…well, I don't think anyone actually practices it anymore, but…"

            "_Was_ ritual?" Kurt asked, interrupting her.

            "It was a sort of…blood bonding of sorts," she said.  "People, like Native American or African tribes, those kinds of people, thought that, if two people shared their blood, they would be able to sense the other person's body, at least in a rudimentary sense."

            "And…you zink zis is _was_ is-?"  Kurt started.  Janella shrugged.  

            "Only thing I can think of," Janella said.  "The practice died out a long time ago, when Europeans took over and convinced native peoples world wide that their cultures sucked and everything they believed in was wrong!"  She sagged against her pillow, adding as an afterthought, "No offense, Kurt."  He rolled his eyes.

            "None taken," he said.  "Okay, zis…ritual sounds…I don't know.  You mentioned--?"

            "It's a blood-bonding," she said again.  "An interchange of the blood of two people.  If that's what happened though…"

            "Vhen did ve share blood?" Kurt finished.

            "Exactly."  Silence fell on the room.

            "I can only zink of vone place," Kurt said finally.  "At ze mall.  Yesterday.  After…" He gestured to her wing, and she nodded. 

            "That would make sense," she conceded quietly, before yawning widely.  She snapped her mouth shut and blinked.  "Sorry," she murmured.

            "It'z all vight," he said.  He reached down and took her hand, giving it a brief squeeze.  "I should go."

            "Aww…" Janella said sadly.  She thrust a bundle of cables at him.  "Can you plug these in somewhere for me?" she asked.

            "_Ja,_" he said, taking them and finding a conveniently close outlet to plug them in.  He handed her the connection, which she attached to her computer.  He headed for the door, and paused there.  She yawned again, and waved weakly.

            "Thanks for coming, Kurt," she said with a smile.

            "I'll be sure to come often," he assured her.  

            "That'd be nice," she said.  "Bye!"

            "Bye, Janella," he said as he walk through the door.  "I'll see you later."

            "All right, Kurt," she said, though it was slightly muffled through another yawn.  "See ya…"

Almost everyone in the mansion visited her at least once during her recovery, and she was friendly to them all, even engaging.  But perhaps it was only the Professor who noticed that she truly opened up only around Kurt.  They kept a camera in the room.  Though it was on all the time, it wasn't usually monitored by anything more than a computer; it was for safety reasons.  Sometimes, especially among the younger or less experienced mutants, when they were injured, their powers would go out of control, and the camera was wired into an alert system to warn the Professor if anything began to go wrong.  He was reviewing some of those tapes, contemplating them, when Ororo entered the room.  

            "What are you doing, Professor?" she asked, standing behind his wheelchair and looking over his shoulder.

            "I'm just reviewing some of the tapes we have of Janella," he replied thoughtfully.  "I believe she and Kurt may have formed some sort of bond, something physical, but I'm not sure what it is."

            "I'd noticed something like that too," Ororo commented, lips pursed.

            "Really?" the Professor asked.  "Do tell."

            "Well," Ororo said slowly, considering her words, "remember the time Kitty was bringing her dinner, and accidentally phased in through Janella's damaged wing?"  She paused a moment for the Professor's affirmation before continuing.  "Well, Kurt knew, and it couldn't have been more that an instant after it happened.  He grabbed at his shoulder like it hurt and then teleported away, and by the time Kitty came up to say something was wrong and I got down there, he was there with Janella."

            "Ah yes," the Professor remarked.  "I do remember that."

            "And that's not the only example of that, either," Ororo added.  The Professor nodded.

            "I believe there may be something between them that goes deeper than just friendship," he remarked.  "And I think we may need to find out exactly how deep it goes.  Go get Kurt and meet me in Janella's room."

            "Professor Xavier?  This is a pleasant surprise," Janella said mildly as he opened the door and rolled into the room.  "And Ororo…and Kurt too?  Wow…I feel so loved."  She smiled shyly, and the Professor could tell she was truly gratified they had come to see her.  "In fact," she continued, "I was just considering getting up and finding someone.  I was SO bored!"  She received concerned stares all around, and held up her hands defensively.  "Calm down!  I was kidding!" she assured them.

            "I zhould haff hoped so," Kurt admonished slightly, coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed.  The Professor entered farther, and Ororo pulled the lone chair over and seated herself. 

            "So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Janella asked smoothly, carefully drawing her legs up to her chest and resting her arms on them.  She could move her body without pain fairly well now, as long as she kept her wing still.  She winced slightly as her wing shifted place, and Kurt felt a twinge of pain in his shoulder.  He ignored it though, and leaned back against her knees.  She gave him a thump on the back, but let him be.  He shrugged, but the Professor leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands.

            "We'd like to know exactly what happened to you at the mall a few days ago, Janella," he said, carefully.  "All we have at the moment are speculative reports from Scott, Jean, and Kurt here."  Janella nodded.  

            "Fair enough," she murmured, biting her lip.  She took a deep breath, and began to tell.  It didn't take her long because most of the details were already known.  The only things she had to add were what happened after they got the civilians evacuated-but she left out what she and Kurt had deducted about their blood-bonding.  "And so I think it was-"

            "Quicksilver," Professor X finished for her.  She nodded, and a look of unmistakable anger flashed across Kurt's face.

            "Quicksilver?!  Vhy zat sneaky little-" Ororo laid a restraining hand on his arm, and he subsided.

            "How's your wing doing, Janella?" she asked.  "I don't think there's no better way to get back at Pietro then get back in the game before he expects it."  Janella's face brightened slightly.

            "I guess you're right," she said.  "It feels fine, Ororo, at least when I keep it stationary…"

            "Which you don't do that often," Kurt muttered under his breath.  Janella glared at him, trying to keep the look, secret, which she failed at.  The Professor glanced between the pair.

            "Zere vas…something else zat happened on zat day," Kurt said slowly.  Both the adults remained silent, and waited for him to elaborate.  "Ve're…vell, ve're not exactly sure _was_ happened, but-"

            "-it was a blood-bonding of sorts," Janella finished.  

            "A blood-bonding?" the Professor questioned.

            "Yes," Ororo said, answering instead of Janella.  "It's a ritual you hear about being used among native tribes in Africa, or perhaps Australia."

            "It involves the sharing of…well, blood, between two people," Janella added.  "It's supposed to heighten their awareness of each other.  I'm not sure what the exact purpose of it is, but it's definitely an intriguing concept."   

            "Indeed it is," Xavier conceded.

            "Well, it does explain certain things, Professor," Ororo said, cocking an eyebrow at Kurt, who grinned nervously.  Janella shrugged uncomfortably and leaned back against her pillow.  She crossed her arms against the headboard.

            "I'm sorry to have to leave so abruptly" Professor X said after a moment of silence, "but I do have things to do, so…"

            "Professor," Janella interrupted quickly.  "I want to tell you about my family."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

O.O  Secret…revelation!!!  Bwahahaha!!  Cliffhanger!  *Points* The only person who isn't in suspense right now is MetaChi, I guarantee you that.  Because she read *Fic name deleted for safety purposes*  ^.^  Right.  So, if you want the next chapter, you know what to do!  Review!

Disclaimer: *Yawn*  If you think I own anything except Mythos…you're sadly mistaken.


	11. A Revelation of an Unnerving Sort

Apparently, no one wants to know.  *Sigh*  Oh well.  You're all going to find out ANYWAY!!  So booyah!  

MetaChi, it appears you are my only faithful reader, and if you have no, life…it doesn't matter to me!!  For once, I don't have a really long A/N-response-to-a-review thingy to write in response to…your review.  And seeing as NO ONE ELSE IS REVIEWING!!!  *Cough*  I suppose it's time to say-

-On with the fic!

Oh wait!  Let it be known that from here on in, Kurt no longer says "_Was,_" the German word for 'what,' but 'vhat.'  The only reason I did that before was b/c a friend of mine informed me that no respectable English-speaking German person would say 'vhat' b/c it sounds too much like their word for 'fat.'  As is obvious, I have decided to ignore him.  In your face, Bernard Michael O'Brien III!

Okay, on with the fic for real this time…

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"Your family, Janella?"  She nodded.  

            "My stepmothers in New Jersey," she clarified.  Kurt shifted uncomfortably and half got to his feet.

            "Uh…zhould I…?" he started.  She grabbed his wrist, almost urgently.

            "No!  Stay…I want you to hear this too," she said earnestly.  She bit her lip and reached for her laptop, flipping the thing open and booting it up.  "I…don't live with your typical family," she started haltingly.

            "Vell, none of us here do, really," Kurt said encouragingly.  Janella cocked an eyebrow at him.  

            "I know that," Janella replied.  "But at least all of your families are earthen."  As she waited a moment for the import of that statement to sink in, she pulled up a program on her computer, practiced fingers flying over the keys and tapping in a password almost before the dialogue box popped up.  

            "Wait a moment," Professor X said.  "Are you implying that your step-parents are…are…?"  Janella nodded sharply.

            "Extraterrestrials, yep," she said.  "Ain't that a bombshell?"  She clicked the mouse buttons rapidly a few times and he computer began to whir rapidly.  A pair of images, 3-D holograms, rose in front of the screen.  One showed a tall thin creature with skin of a bright green.  What parts of the limbs that could be seen were stick-thin, spindly.  It had wide, slightly luminous red eyes, and a pair of boxily curled black antennae.  It was dressed in a definitely in-human manner, with what looked like some sort of armor covering its upper body.  Only two fingers could be seen.

            The other, if the holograms were to scale, was shorter than the first.  It looked almost the same.  It had green skin and red eyes, but antennae with a kink on the end instead of the curls.  Unlike the other figure, though, this one was dressed in human clothes, albeit vastly oversized ones.  She turned the computer around so the others could see it.

            "Are…those your stepmothers?" Ororo asked.  Janella shook her head with a laugh.

            "No!"  She pointed to the one not in human clothes.  "She's one of them.  ZaiFae Luthuviel; she's an Irken, they both are.  The other is her son, Reno."

            "The one who spooked you when we first met?" Ororo asked.  She nodded.  

            "The one and only."  Kurt opened his mouth, but she cut him off.  "He was wearing his own hologram projector."

            "Oh."

            She took a deep breath.  The two holograms flickered and disappeared, to be replaced with another one, this time of a solitary being.  It was taller appearing than the other two, and had a quite human body.  Its skin was a bright magenta color, and it had a pair of wings that looked exactly like Janella's folded to its back.  Its arms were crossed over its ample chest.  The most unusual thing about it was its head.  It had a pointed snout, and a long, bony, curving crest jutting from the back of its head.  It wore form-fitting, relatively human clothes…though the platform boots looked like something out of the seventies rather than the current times.

            "Lightwing Moonstars," she said.  "My other stepmother.  One word of advice-don't get on her bad side.  She's more powerful than you can imagine!"

            "Really?" Professor X questioned.  "How so?"  Janella opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off-by a shout in her head.

            _~Janella Baduini, spill one thing about me and you'll regret it if you even set foot on our property again!~_

            Janella winced away, and the Professor pressed his hands to his temples.  

            _~Not so loud, please,~ _he requested. 

            _~Calm down, Lightwing,~_ Janella snapped, thought voice cold.  _~I won't say anything else.~_

            _~Yeah, you better not.~ _With that injunction, the voice was gone.  Janella rolled her eyes and sighed harshly.

            "I can't believe she was monitoring my mind!  Doesn't she trust me?" she asked, sounding extremely hurt.  

            "She was…monitoring your mind?  At that distance?" Professor X asked incredulously.

            "Yeah.  Can you believe that?" She crossed her arms and flopped back against the pillow.  

            "She has quite an amazing reach," he commented.  She nodded.

            "I told you she was powerful.  We're lucky she doesn't ever get the urge to conquer a sentient planet, or we'd be in major trouble."  They lapsed into silence for a few moments, and Ororo was the first to break it.

            "How did you come to be living with…with them?" she asked tentatively.  Janella dropped her eyes.  

            "According to Lightwing, they found me in a garbage can one day, and she…well, she adopted me."

            "You mean you lived vith zat full time?" Kurt asked.  Apparently he too had heard Lightwing's outburst.  

            "She's usually not that bad," Janella said, glancing apologetically at Professor X.  She shifted uncomfortably under the gazes of the three.  "Now you see why I didn't want to tell anybody.  Sure, this school is very accepting, and we're all mutants here, so we all know what it's like to be left out.  Among us, no one is really, truly excluded.  But, well…even the most open-minded of people have trouble with the fact that not only are there extraterrestrials on the planet, but one of their number lived with them for most of her life."

            The Professor nodded.  "I can see your point," he said.  "That is something that's…very hard to accept."

            "You're telling me," she said with an eye roll.  "So, keeping in mind how hard it is for people to accept this little tidbit, do you think you guys could maybe not spread it all over the Institute?"

            "Oh of course, Janella," the Professor said.  "I can see why you wouldn't want it spread, so don't worry.  Your secret is safe."

            "Cross my heart," Kurt added.  Janella smiled at them.

            "That's a relief," Janella said with a laugh.  She inclined her upper body at them, and winced as her wing twitched.

            "You must stop doing zat," Kurt said with a laugh.  She shrugged.

            "Sorry if I'm causing you any discomfort, blue boy," she said sarcastically.  

            "Well, dinnertime is approaching, so we must be going," the Professor said politely.  Janella nodded.

            "I'll send Evan down with your meal, Janella," Ororo said, rising and opening the door for Professor X.  Janella waved jauntily as the three of them exited.  When the door swung shut, the air over in the far corner of the room began to shimmer and wave.  Then, like a curtain being dropped, Reno appeared, leaning jauntily, in all his Irken glory.  

            "That was close," he said with a laugh.  She nodded.

            "No joke.  I think they took it pretty well though."

            "Jeez, talk about giving me a heart attack," he said, eyeing her.  "I though you were going to point me out!  And then Lightwing…"  He trails off, rolling his eyes, and though he actually have pupils to indicate the movement, she had lived with him long enough to be able to tell.

            "Nah," she said, shaking her head.  "They may accept they concept, but they're definitely not ready for the real thing, so scat!  You heard Ororo; her nephew will be down soon.  And don't get caught!"

            "Calm down, sis," he said.  "You know I won't.  Well, nice seeing you weren't dying.  Mom will be reassured."

            "Yeah, tell her I said hi," she said, before making a shooing gesture.  "Now git!"  She waved as he cracked open the door and slid out, disappearing as he went.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"Ain't that a bombshell?"  I just love that line.  Seriously, it's one of the best lines in the fic…or at least the chapter.  So, now you know who Janella's elusive and mysterious stepmothers are.  Oh, and for the record, they're not aliens with lesbianistic tendencies.  They live together for practical purposes only.  How the heck d'you think ZaiFae got a son??  Sheesh.  Actually, if you watched the show Invader ZIM, you'd know that Irkens are born from tubes…but ZaiFae's a very, VERY special case.  *Nods*

So.  Review.  Please?  I beg you!!  I really need to know someone other than MetaChi is reading this.  Even if you hated it, review.  Tell me why!  Just let me know you read it!  Please?  Come on!

Disclaimer:  Now, not only do I not own X-Men: Evolution, I don't own Invader ZIM, or Irkens, either!  Dammit.  Mythos is me, however, and therefore mine, and Lightwing, who started as my creation along with the rest of her species, had evolved into her own person and personality, so I guess I really don't own her anymore either.  Double dammit. Oh well!


	12. A Grand Day Out: Kind of

*Sigh* I'm a bit depressed today, for today I had to bury another mouse.  'Twas my last one too.  *Sniff* I am no longer a proud owner of mice.  Nope.  Oh well.  *Blink*

Hey look!  I got TWO reviews for my last chapter!!  Two!!  I'm so happy!  No, wait, I'm depressed…happy!…nope, depressed again.  _Verdammt!_

MetaChi, I think that if you ever stopped reviewing this…I'd die.  Yep.  I'd keel over on the spot and cease to live.  So I don't care if it was only you reviewing, because you are a very important…you.  Yeah.   Hmmm…maybe I should…I live Dracula!  Though I've never actually finished reading the book…Isn't Reno great?  Ah, the capabilities of Irken tech, no?

MOTA: Thank you for reviewing!  You have given me hope, and I won't stop just because no one other than MetaChi's reviewing.  Once again, thank you!!!

Oh, just so you all know, Chapter 18's in the works!

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Janella was singing.  Not loudly, or exuberantly, just softly under her breath, singing along with her CD player; if he was any judge, it was more for lack of things to do than anything else.  A normal person would not be able to hear it, but hey, those pointed ears were not just for earning him nicknames.

            He was newly returned from a junk food gathering expedition with Bobby, Jubilee, and Evan, and had picked up a little gift for her while he was out.  He paused outside the door; head cocked, and listened to what she was murmuring.

            "Just as the clouds have gone to sleep/ Angels can be seen in Heaven's keep."

            "Alone in fear zey question vhy/ Goddamn not an angel vhen I die," Kurt supplied, pushing open the door.  The expression of surprise on her face at seeing him stopped him for a moment.  "Vhat?Is zere something in my teeth?"  She blushed and giggled.

            "No, Kurt," she said.  "Just didn't…" She trailed off.

            "Didn't vhat?" he prompted.

            "I didn't really expect to see you back here."  It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about; when the realization hit him he began to laugh so hard he had to sit down on the end of the bed to keep from falling over.

            "What?" she asked, utterly bewildered.

            "Do you actually think zat ze whole 'family' zing vould change ze vay zings are between us?" he asked, genuinely shocked.  She shrugged slightly and nodded.

            "Well, yeah.  That's what usually happens," she said quietly.

            "You've told before?"

            "Twice.  Once when we lived in Cali, California, I mean, and once in Florida.  Guess why we moved…" She sighed and sat back against her pillows, eyes glistening suspiciously.

            "Wow…" He wasn't a telepath like the Professor or Jean, but he could still get the feeling that maybe her family blamed her for that.  Belatedly, he remembered his gift, and held it out to her.  "I brought you something."  She looked up, eyes brightening and whole demeanor changing.

            "Chocolate!  Hershey's chocolate!" she accepted it gratefully.  "Man, you don't know how bad I've been craving this stuff."  She glanced up.  "Or maybe you do…" He shrugged.

            "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he said with a cryptic laugh.  Her expression turned thoughtful.

            "Hmm.  You don't know how badly I've been craving a Smoked Ham and Swiss sandwich from Panera…" He shook an admonishing finger at her.

            "Hey now, didn't zose stepmothers of yours teach you not to take advantage of kind people?" he asked with mock severity.  She affected an aura of innocence.

            "Gee, Kurt, no," she said in a high-pitched voice.  "They taught me the exact opposite!"  She grinned devilishly, the look enhanced by the fangs she still sported.  He stared at her for a moment, and the two of them promptly broke down into peals of laughter.  They made so much noise that they attracted the interest of a passing Logan.  He peered into the room.

            "Short stack?  Elf?  What's so funny in here?" he asked in his gravelly voice.  Janella was still too stricken in the throes of her laughing fit to respond, but after a few deep breaths Kurt turned to face the older man.

            "Ve're sorry, _Herr_ Logan," he said, voice quavery with laughter.  He pointed over his shoulder at the bed-ridden Janella.  "It vas something she said."  This caused Janella to redouble her laughter, even though it really wasn't that funny.  Logan quirked an eyebrow, shrugged, and walked on.  As Kurt turned back to his friend, she sat up and dashed the laughter tears from her eyes.

            "I'm sorry," she said.  "I just haven't had a good laugh in a while."

            "Vell, zey say zat laughter is ze best medicine," Kurt acknowledged.  

            "You'd make a good doctor, then," she informed him, opening the bag of Hershey's Nuggets and unwrapping one.  She offered him the bag and he accepted.  She sighed.

            "Something wrong?" he asked, worried.

            "Nothing serious," she said.  "I'm just going stir-crazy in here is all.  I'm hard enough to keep entertained when I'm healthy!"  She laughed ruefully.  "I've never broken a bone before, so this whole 'enforced inactivity' thing is new to me."

            "Hmm…" he glanced around the room furtively.  "How long ago was your last dose of painkillers?" he asked.  She chuckled.

            "You mean you couldn't tell?" she asked.  He smiled.

            "Okay, so about two hours ago," he said.  "And zey're still vorking, zat much I can tell.  How strong are zose splints?"  She tapped at the collection of wires, strips of wood, and bandages that held her wing immobile.  

            "Pretty strong, I guess," she said.  "Why?"

            "I'll be right back," he said abruptly, disappearing in his trademark puff of smoke.  Before the stuff even dissipated fully, he was back.  "Vanna go on a little trip?"  

            "You…mean…?" she said slowly.  He nodded and seized her hand, pulling her into a half-sitting position.  She had time to get her legs partially underneath her before they were gone.

            He took her to a clearing in the trees rimming the Institute.  He immediately grabbed her other arm and supported her as she sank gratefully to the grass.  She yanked him down beside her and cast her arms about his neck.  

            "Oh, Kurt, thank you!" she cried.  He uncomfortably wriggled out of her grasp.

            "You're velcome, Janella, but it vasn't zat big of a deal," he said, smiling sheepishly.

            "It is to me," she said, much more sedately, lying back on the grass.  "Ah, natural sunlight.  I feared I would turn into a pale ghost in there!"

            He sat up.  "Now you're just being melodramatic."  She chuckled and reached over, taking his hand in her own, squeezed it.

            "This means more to me than you might know," Janella said, quite serious.  There was an odd catch to her voice, and unexpectedly, her touch sent an electric thrill up his arm.  He reached over and covered her hand with his free one.

            "I'm glad it made you so happy," he said with a genuine smile.

            Unknown to him, his touch sent the same electrical thrills through her, and had been doing it for several days.  She hadn't believed in love at first sight until her first sight of him, the real him.  Of course, it was not very strong love at first, more of an undeniable attraction, but as the days passed and she got to know him better, she could not deny the feelings growing inside her.  She sighed gustily.  She did not want to rush or force anything, nor did she want to let him know how she felt.  She looked up between the tree limbs at the sky.

            "That cloud looks like a bunny," she commented.  He gave her an odd look, before looking up at the sky.

            "Oh vow, you're right," he said.  "It is a bunny!"  She giggled, but it was a different sound than usual, conveying a lot of emotion.  They continued to point out shapes in the clouds for a while, and eventually lapsed into silence, a pleasantly warm breeze gusting along the ground around them.  Kurt found himself dozing off, and turned to Janella.  She was fast asleep, still hand in hand with him.  At some point during their cloud watching, they had moved closer together so that their shoulders and thighs were touching.  Kurt felt some very unfamiliar emotions sweep through him.  

She looked so innocent asleep, and he was loathe to wake her, but he was sure that someone would be looking for either him or her soon, and he got the feeling that those in charge of Janella's recuperation would not appreciate their little trip.  He gently shook the girl's shoulder.  Her brow wrinkled and she squirmed away.  

"Don' wanna go to school, ZaiFae," she murmured.  He laughed.

"You don't have to vorry about zat," he said.  She stirred, and sat up halfway, pulling her hand from his as she did so.  He was almost sad to let it go.

"Hmm?  Whoa…how'd we get out here?" she asked.

"I brought us out, remember?"  She chuckled.

"Oh yeah…did I fall asleep?"  He nodded.  "Oops…so I suppose we should be going inside then, huh?"  He got to his feet, smiling ruefully

"Unfortunately," he said, offering her his hand.  She accepted it, and he pulled her to her feet, taking them back to her room.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Aww, we got a little romance going on here, no?

Kurt and Mythos: NO!

Hey, you muses are the ones who helped write this chapter, thank you!  Hmph.  Weirdoes.  Ooh!  Guess what?  The convenience store down the road from my Dad's house got the 'Mutants Rising' DVD!!!  Now I can go rent it whenever I wanna watch Evo.  Woo!

Disclaimer:  Disclaim!  Disclaim!  Disclaim!  ((In other words, I own very little…but this Kurt figure is still mine!!  Woohoo!))


	13. Nightmares in the Dark

Woo!  Another Chapter and it's only been, like, a day…or two.  *Shakes head*  Anyway, that's not the point, the point is I'm posting another chapter.  Why?  Who cares!  I did!

Anyway, Kuja:  Thanks for reviewing, and here's the update!!  Yeah, aliens.  Isn't it great?

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She was walking, an odd sensation since something in the back of her head kept informing her irritably she should be in her bed back in the Institute's infirmary.  She shook her head and raised her hands, pushing away on eitherside, as if trying to push away the voice.

            She was shrouded in a mist, another odd thing since she was walking down a darkened corridor in the Institute; or at least that was what she thought.  That was what it looked like, anyway.  It seemed unreasonably long, and quite wide too.  In fact, the more she looked about her, the more she felt she was not in the Institute.

            She also felt she was floating on air; she had the distinct sensation of euphoria, as though someone had just given her a massive dose of painkillers.  Her lips curved in a vague, bemused smile, and she realized that her wing was completely painless and folded naturally against her back.  She spared it a glance and shrugged.  So it was better…okay, it was better!  Cool!  She took a deep breath and the feeling of floating increased.

            She glanced down.  She…was…floating.  Several inches above the mist-shrouded floor.  That was never good.  Then, something that felt like a warm and pleasant breeze swept up from behind her, and she felt herself drifting down the corridor.  If she had been in right mind, she would have struggled, but she was too hopped up on her feeling of euphoria to care.  In fact, she even giggled as the breeze swept her out of the corridor and into a great bowl, like an auditorium or amphitheatre.

            Abruptly, the breeze cut out, and she dropped, but not far, nor hard.  She did not even hit the ground, remaining instead hovering an inch above, half-braced for an impact.  She looked about, but the mist had thickened, and though she couldn't see walls or a ceiling around her, she got the distinct impression of a vast space.

            Three things happened suddenly, in quick succession.  First, something moved in the mist off to her left, noticed more by the stuff swirling in its wake than actual movement of its body.  As she turned dreamily to stare at it, she fell with a bump to the hard ground, uttering a small cry of pain.  Then, as if it had been a taught cord suddenly cut, her euphoria lifted, so fast it was nearly painful.  She blinked and looked around.

            "What the he-?"  Her question was cut off as the mist directly in front of her stirred and a dragonish, horse-like head came out, regarding her through milky-white eyes.  The thing snapped at her, revealing fangs, and reared back, turning away.  She had a glimpse of a skeletal body and wide, leathery, bat-like wings before the mist closed again.  She scrambled to her feet as the ground bucked beneath her, knocking her down again.  Something zoomed up out of the mist and began whirring around her, so fast she was quickly dizzy.  She had a blurred impression of that damned Quicksilver, who paused and waved jauntily before speeding away.  The ground bucked again and punched up into the air under her, tumbling her off backwards.  She thwacked her head on a rock and saw stars as she landed upside against a boulder.

            She groaned and tried to get up, but a searing, shooting pain in her previously injured-then-uninjured wing stopped her and left her gasping for breath as bit her lip against the pain.  Fireworks exploded in the back of her skull but she ignored them as she attempted to right herself. When she finally had gotten her head above her knees and her vision had cleared, she was surrounded, though by what she cloud not tell.  They looked suspiciously like orcs, from Lord of the Rings.  Instead of charging like she vaguely expected them too, they just sort of…merged together into a monstrous, troll-esque creature, but before it could do anything else, it fell apart again, into a swarm of little green dinosaurs, which scattered away like leaves in the face of a breeze.

            She tried to struggle to her feet just as a twisting plant erupted from the ground beneath her and lifted her into the air, dangling her by an ankle.  She kicked at it and just as quickly as it appeared the plant disappeared, but she remained floating upside down in the air.  She looked around; the X-Men were gathered beneath.  It was Jean holding her up, using her telekinesis!  But they were not helping her, they were laughing at her, pointing and jeering, calling her a freak and an outcast, a reject of humanity-and Kurt was standing at the fore, pointing and laughing more loudly than the others!  She felt tears of humiliation and betrayal sting her eyes, and flung her wings forward; to try to block them out, send them away-

Kurt sat up in bed, a scream that was not his own echoing in his head and a burning pain in his shoulder so intense his eyes began to water.  He glanced at his bedside clock long enough to convince himself that it was still was the middle of the night, and shoved his blankets off him.  The pain had subsided to a throbbing ache, but he, himself, was not wounded.  He hopped out of bed, and bamfed down to Janella's infirmary room.

She was sitting up, arms around her knees and tears coursing down her face.  She was rocking back and forth, injured wing lying limply to one side, part of the delicate structure that held it immobilized shattered.  As she moved, it moved too, and each time it did, a renewed throb of pain lanced through his shoulder.  Her tail was lashing back and forth furiously behind her, and her uninjured wing was half furled and tensed.

"Janella?"  Kurt took a hesitant step forward.  She looked up, and winced away at the sight of him, flaring her wing protectively in front of her.

"Go 'way," she mumbled.  He shook his head, and took another step.

"Vhatis wrong, _fraulein_?" he asked quietly.  She shook her head and shrunk farther away.

"Go away," she repeated more firmly.  Her voice was filled with fear, fear of…him.  

"Vhat?" he asked again, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You…you were…" She broke off, burying her head in her hands, but he took it as a good sign that she had folded her wing behind her.

"I vas vhat, Janella?" he said, moving closer. 

"Making fun of me," she whispered quietly, so quietly that a normal person would not have caught it.  "With all the other X-Men.  In my nightmare!"  She began sobbing harder.  Kurt, very tentatively, put his arm around her shoulder.  She leaned against him and began crying into his shoulder.

"Zhere, zhere, it's all right, _liebe_," he told her reassuringly.  "Zat's all it vas, a nightmare.  Nightmares aren't real."

"Sometimes they are," she told him belligerently.  

"Vell, if zat's ze vay you're going to think, I might as vell go back to bed," he said, pulling away.  She shook her head and clung harder to him, looking for all the world like a frightened young child.  

"Don't go," she whispered quietly. Kurt was thoroughly confused now.  She had just gone from telling him to go away, a sentiment he was used to hearing from girls, to imploring him not to go.  He wanted to roll his eyes, but refrained from doing so.  Girls were so…weird.  She held tighter, still obviously frightened, and he did his awkward teenage male's best to comfort her (which was actually pretty good, considering the relative emotional blockheaded-ness of most boys his age).  He put both arms around her, listening patiently while she related her dream to him.

"Zat sounds truly creepy," he assured her when she was done.  She nodded agreement, taking in a deep breath.  She was calmer now, as if the telling of what frightened her made it less tangible.  

"I think I can safely say it was the weirdest dream I ever had," she said breathlessly, adding, "and I've had some pretty weird dreams before.  Believe me!"  She grinned slightly, brushing residual tears from her eyes and sniffing half-heartedly.   

"Oh, I do, don't vorry," he said.  "I've had some veird dreams myself in my time…mostly involving omelettes."  She stared disbelievingly at him.

"Omelettes?" she asked skeptically.  He laughed.

"_Ja._  Vacky, no?"

"Very wacky," she agreed with a nod.  "Y'know-" she yawned widely, "-omelettes are quite…" She trailed off, and he was surprised to see that she had fallen back to sleep.  He stared down at her for a moment then carefully eased her down on the pillow.  She settled down, sighing happily and falling more deeply asleep.  He stood up and turned to go, but paused and looked back for a moment.

Unsurprisingly, she looked every bit as innocent as she had that afternoon, and he had to admit she did look better for their little jaunt outside.  He could not be sure, but in the dim light, she appeared to be glowing faintly.  Prompted by some internal instinct, he bent and kissed her quickly.  Furious blush hidden by his blue fur, he turned and quickly teleported back to his room.  

He went so fast; he did not see the contented smile that curved her lips.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!  I love the ending of this, though that dream freaks me out!  *Bounces around*  *Sigh* How come the only active muses at the moment are Kurt and Mythos?  They won't leave me alone about this.  They won't shut up!!!!

Kurt:  Vell…_ja._  Ve like zis story!

Mythos:  I like the direction it's going in….heh heh heh.  

Peachy.  9.9   Just review, peoples, okay?  Thankies!!!

Disclaimer: I want chicken, I want liver, Meow Mix Meow Mix please deliver!!!  In other words, no own-ie!  


	14. Out of the Infirmary!

And yet another chapter for all you faithful fans out there!!  ^.^  

MetaChi, I actually wrote something sappy?  Wiggy.  Don' think I've done that before, but I agree with you!  Wow.  Am I really your only TMNT/Zimmy/LotR/X-Men/Paranormal/dinosaur friend?  That's so cool!!!  I don't know…they're very u7ndecided about this fic.  Stupid muses…

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 "Ow!  Don't touch it there!  It's still sore!"  

            "Voops.  Sorry!"  Nightcrawler pulled his hand back quickly, smiling ashamedly.  Mythos flicked her fingers dismissively at him.

            "It's alright, Nightcrawler," she said, carefully folding the wing back against her spine.  Though it had seemed like an intolerably long time, the healing of Mythos' wing had actually not taken that long.  She was young and the bones were thin; she healed fast.  She was no longer confined to the bed in the infirmary room, but she still was not fully healed.  Her wing moved as it did before, but could not support her weight in flight.  As a result, she was having to rely entirely on her own reflexes and prior training with her more than able step-mothers, and a gift which had arrived in the mail the day she was released from the infirmary.

            She was leaning on it now, as Cyclops went over the high and low points of the teamwork training sessions they had just completed.  He turned to her, obviously planning to deride her on an apparent show of extreme clumsiness, tripping over her own feet on a flat stretch of ground.  She snorted.

            "Come off it Cyclops," she snapped, tail tip flicking behind her.  "Didn't you see what happened after I went down?"  Without waiting for an answer, she pantomimed dropping to her knees, pivoting on them, and swinging her staff, for a staff it was, into the center of an imaginary enemy from behind.  The other X-Men drew away to avoid being impaled.

            "Yeah Cyclops," piped up Shadowcat.  "I saw her, and, like, that orb didn't stand a chance!"  Mythos hauled herself upright on her staff and sent a grateful look Shadowcat's way.  She ran a hand appreciatively down the finely polished wood of the staff.

            It was called a Batik staff, and though she had passed it off to the others as an object from Australia, it was really from Irk, ZaiFae's home planet.  It was an ancient weapon that the Irken had taken a liking to using, not to mention showing great skill with it.  She liked it so much she even taught the skills required to use it properly to her children; birth and adopted.  It was used in much the same way as a Bo staff, but the Batik was a bit more dangerous.  Mythos fingers lazed up the wood and caressed the base of the blade, which protruded from the wood maybe an inch from the end of it.  As she listened to Cyclops' talking, she ran one gloved finger over the razor sharp edge of the twelve-inch, slightly curving blade, going from base to point and back again, before entwining her fingers in the pair of long streamers tied at the base of the blade.

            She glanced over at Nightcrawler, managing to convey a request for his company later that day in that brief moment their eyes met.  He shook his head slightly and the faintest trace of a pout crossed her face before she turned back to Cyclops.  

            When the older boy dismissed them, Mythos jogged to catch up with Nightcrawler, ducking between Spyke and Jean as they all scattered off, to their rooms or the showers or who knows where else.  She tapped him on the shoulder.

            "Okay, what's going down this afternoon?" she asked, darting around in front of him and planting her staff.

            "'Going down'?  Vhy, nothing's 'going down,'" he said, attempting to sound convincing and failing.

            "Right," she said, crossing her arms.  "And I'm going to be flying to the moon tonight."  She had to admit he was smart; he knew when he was caught.

            "All right, me and a couple of ze others are going to see a movie zis afternoon," he said reluctantly.  Her face fell.

            "Oh."  Until her wing was deemed fully healed, Janella was not allowed to shift back into her birth form, and as a result barred from leaving the mansion.  She sighed and looked away.  "Well, have a good time!" she said, forcing happiness into her voice.  She whirled and was gone.

            Janella paused in the front foyer, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.  She had no right to be short with Kurt just because he got to go out on the town and she was stuck in the mansion.  If she was snappish to him, she would have to be snappish to everyone else, and that would take too much energy, not to mention bomb any strengthening friendships she had with the other X-Men.  She made a promise to herself to apologize to him next time she saw him.  

            She looked around and shrugging, wandered upstairs.  She pushed open the door to her room and collapsed on her bed, nearly missing it.  With a groan she got back up and pushed the door closed, locking it with her tail.  She crossed the room and pulled closed the blinds, before turning and carefully stripping off her uniform.  She began to hum mournfully as she rooted out some loose clothing and pulled it on.  Then she flopped back onto her bed, carefully avoiding her bad wing.  She sighed, but sat up, folding her legs underneath her and pulling a book off her bedside table.  She let it fall open on her lap and began to read, absently propping a pillow behind her.

            She had barely finished two pages when the sound of air being displaced and the smell of brimstone interrupted her.  She looked up to see Kurt standing at the foot of her bed, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably, and holding a large, brown-wrapped block in his hands.

            "Um…zis came in ze mail…I offered to bring it to you before ve left," he said, holding it out.  She took it and looked it over.  It was from her stepmothers, ZaiFae in particular.  She could tell by the harsh, angular script.  As she tore it open, she glanced up at Kurt, who was still standing there.  

            "Ah-hey, Kurt?" she started.  "I'm-ah-sorry for snapping at you today.  It was totally unfair of me."

            "Oh.  Um, it's all right, really.  You have ze right, _was_ vith being stuck in ze mansion and all."  Janella didn't answer; she was too busy staring at the book in her hands.  She cracked a small smile.  "_Was ist das?" _Kurt asked, staring at it. She chuckled.  

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," she said with a crooked smile.  She looked up.  "Go see your movie, Kurt.  Tell me about it when you get back, okay?"  She grinned, opened her book, and was, for all practical purposes, gone. Kurt regarded her for a moment before an irritable honk from outside reminded him he was supposed to be going somewhere.  He shook his head, glanced at her again, and teleported away.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Aww, Mythos is feelin' left out.  Poor kid.  *Sniff* On the plus side, she gets to read OTP!!  Go her!  It's really, really, good, for anyone who cares.

And now, a bit of bad news.  I'm going on vacation.  Again.  To Montana.  I won't say I'm not looking forward to it, cuz I am, but I will regret the absence of the Internet, AND am not pleased with the fact that I can bring my laptop along and all, what with this bein' a school-based trip.  So, look for an update around the fifteenth.  That's when I get back!  Later!

Disclaimer:  If you still persist in the delusion that I own X-Men: Evolution or any of the other things used in this fic and you decide to sue me, you won't end up with much to show for you effort.  You'll get my fly rod.  That's all.  Sorry!  *Waves and skips off*


	15. A Bond Pulls Through

Woo!  Guess who's back-back again-I am back-tell a friend!  Right.  So.

I got reviews!!  Yay!  *Dances around*  And now, I respond:

MetaChi:  I had fun!  Oh, what fun I had!  Such fun fun it was!  I almost got to meet Jack Horner!  Almost!  I was in his museum, looking at fossils excavated from his Birthday site and everything.  I was so DAMN close!  ^.^  Heh heh.  I think Lupin's my fav as well…but still.  I miss him!  *Sobs*  ^.^  Go Angry Beavers, Rocko, and HP!  A big bladed Bo!  Woot!  

C-Chan10:  You-you got to walk past Alessandro Nivola?!  O.O  He is so cute!!  I just watched that movie last night!  *Sigh* Raptors.  How I love thee. It was a little slow at times, yes, but I did like it.  Thestrals rock!  You do?  Yay!

Tewks: Thanks for reviewing.  I like reviews.

Retneprac: The reason I've only got 14 posted is because I don't want to post them all at once.  It would kill a few of my cliffhangers.  They'll be coming fast now, though, because I have finished!

Okay.  Story.  Here y'all go:

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Janella was still reading in her room when she felt it, a searing pain in her head, neck, and shoulders.  Harry Potter fell from her hands, bouncing on the bed and sliding to the floor with a hollow thunk as she clamped her hands to her head.  She lashed out with wings and tail to drive off her attacker-and realized that the pain was not hers.  She had leapt to her feet, thrown open her window and clambered half way out of it by the time her conscious brain connected the phantom pain to her bond with Kurt.  She was gliding over the mansion's grounds when she realized that she probably should have told someone what she was doing, and she was entering the low cloud cover when she realized that she didn't even know where Kurt was, just that something was wrong.

            She locked her wings against the breeze, thanking any deity that cared to listen that it was nighttime already, and winced as the pain in her shoulder and wing took her breath half away.  Mr. McCoy and the Professor had been right.  She was not ready to fly yet.  But that was unimportant; she had to find Kurt.  That pain had not been trivial, and she was only feeling a portion of it.  She gritted her teeth and powered on, angling wings and body to best catch the wind and dipping below the clouds.  She was unlikely to be seen against the clouds unless a spotlight was directed against her.  She began a wide spiral over the city, the cool air helping to clear her head of the haze the pain had induced.

            As a series of pricks and scrapes made themselves known on her back and legs, she began to realize how hopelessly ill-prepared she was.  She didn't even know where Kurt and the others were!  Were they at the movies?  Driving home?  Maybe they'd stopped somewhere to eat!  She didn't know!  The blood bond wasn't a damn homing beacon.

            When she noticed a blossom of fire along one of the small back roads leading to the mansion, and figured that was the best place to go.  She folded her wings and dove, falling like a rock (on a slant) towards the spot of flickering light.  As she drew closer, she could see with a shock it was one of the many vehicles from the mansion, it's front driver's side crushed in and the whole thing flipped in a ditch and on fire.

            Trees lined one side of the road, low grassy hills the other.  Selecting the hills as a more preferable landing place, she slammed her wings open and attempted to land normally.  She was unable to extend her injured wing fully, though, and flopped the landing, crashing down the hill.  She managed to sit upright and slid the last few feet into a ravine, only to come face to face with a bristling Iceman and a fired-up Magma.  She held up her hands defensively.

            "Don't shoot!" she cried.  "It's me, Janella!"

            "Janella?"  That was Kitty.  "Like, how'd you get here so fast?  Rahne just called for help, like, a minute ago!"  She was crouching in the grass next to a large and suspiciously blue lump, and beyond her was Rahne, putting something, presumably a cell phone, into her pocket.  Janella heaved herself to her feet, her face a mask of impassiveness to disguise the pain that movement caused.  

            "What happened?" she asked urgently, managing not to stumble over the poorly illuminated ground to Kitty and drop into a crouch beside her.

            "There was, like, a squirrel in the road," she explained tersely.  "Kurt was driving, and he swerved to, like, avoid it, and we hit a telephone pole."

            "Kitty was sitting next to me and she grabbed me and phased us out before he hit the pole," Amara hurried to add.  "And then Rahne and Bobby were knocked out when the car rebounded, but Kurt-"

            "He hit the pole head-on, and right on the driver's side."  Bobby took over now. "He slammed into the windshield, and it knocked him out, and then the entire thing flipped into this ditch."

            "It didn't, like, catch on fire, though, until I had managed to, like, get him out," Kitty finished.  As they had been talking, Janella had been surveying the situation, her eyes already, almost unconsciously, tuned for night vision.  Her training kicked in now, both that she had received with the X-Men and the earlier training provided by her stepmother ZaiFae; Invader training.  Of course, she had not planned for either of her children to become Invaders, but having gone through the training herself, the tall Irken knew how practical it could be.  

            Its practicality was showing itself now.  One of the first things instilled in her was never let an unconscious person fall asleep.  Ever.  Kurt was definitely unconscious, and if the blood covering his head and shoulders was any indication, he had head trauma, which meant it was dangerous to move him or even try to wake him up.  She reached down and gently touched his forehead, before snapping to her feet.

            "Does anyone have any water?!"

            "What?"

            "Water," she said impatiently.  "A liquid.  Any liquid!  We need to wake him up without moving him!"

            "I thought I saw a…" Rahne started.

            "Go get it!" Janella snapped, somewhat tersely, and Rahne obediently darted up the hill.  She rounded on Amara and Bobby.  "Is there any way you two can work together to melt some more water or something?"  Janella asked.  "I have a feeling that whatever Rahne brings it won't be enough…" Sure enough, she returned a moment later with a partially full, partially crushed plastic water bottle.  She tossed it to Janella, who, working on instinct alone now, reached up and caught it, pulling off the cap and hesitantly dribbling the water over Kurt's face and neck.  It didn't do much, but by then Bobby had created one huge ball of ice between his hands, and Amara had lit up hers.  She positioned them on either side of him, with Amara moving her hands closer or farther to the ice ball to vary how fast it melted, and Bobby continuing to replenish the ice so the melted water remained relatively cold.  Janella crouched at Kurt's head, cleaning the blood off of him methodically and hoping the stimulation would bring him around faster.

            She periodically checked his pulse, and each time she did, it felt slower.  Of course, it could just be that time itself was slowing around them, but she didn't believe that, didn't hope that.  She could still feel his pain resounding through her, but gritted her teeth and ignored it, as the world narrowed to the drip of the water and the working of her fingers over his fur.

            "A little closer now, Amara," she murmured, and the younger girl obligingly thrust her hands closer to the ball of ice.  The drip of melted water became a steady stream, and Janella was able to brush away the last of the dried blood, but was alarmed to see more seeping out from under his hairline.  With out thinking, she stripped off her t-shirt and shredded it, folding several of the strips into a pad, which she pressed to his head at the point of the bleeding.  As the pressure was applied, her heart leapt to see his eyelids flutter weakly open.  Kitty moved in to continue applying pressure, and Bobby and Amara scrambled back.  She put her hand gently on his shoulders, and he turned his head a fraction of an inch to see her better.  She winced at the fresh, echoed waves of pain that that injudicious movement caused swept through her.  She grimaced, momentarily dizzied, but pushed the feeling away, as she had been the low burning sensation in her wing.  She reached down and took Kurt's hand in hers, squeezing it slightly.  The nerves up and down both of his arms were on fire, and as a result so were hers, but she knew the pain would help keep him from becoming unconscious again.

            Rahne scrambled up and over the hill to the sound of brakes screeching.  She had put herself on lookout so that the X-Men who responded to her call could find them (as if they could miss the flaming wreck of the vehicle).

            "They're here!" she called out over the sounds of doors opening and closing, as Mr. McCoy, Ororo, Logan, Jean, and Scott surged up and over the hill.  The older people pushed her and the other four younger ones out of the way, and she jarred her wing on landing.  This small additional pain cracked the barrier that she had put up to hold back their shared pains while she worked, and it overwhelmed her like a black, roiling tide.  She was unconscious before she even got a chance to see how Kurt was.

"Someone get her in the van," Logan snapped tersely of the prone young girl behind him as he and the other full adults worked on preparing the elf for transport back to Mansion.  It already did not look good for him, and the added collapse of Short Stack was not helping in any way.  Rahne and Amara wrestled the collapsible stretcher Hank had brought up over the hill, and rolled it down beside Kurt.  Jean, hands on her temples in concentration, slowly lifted his prone body off the ground and onto it.  

            Logan had to admit, when he, Ororo, and Hank answered the emergency call from Rahne, he had not been pleased to find that Jean and Scott had volunteered themselves for the rescue mission, but he was grateful now that they had come.  Jean had been able to block the elf's pain and ease him back into unconsciousness, a safe one this time, with her telepathy, and Scott was doing a good job of calming the ones who had been in the crash and extracting the full story.  

            Logan looked around.  Everything seemed to be under control.  Ororo and Hank were bringing Kurt back over the low hill to the van, Jean following.  Scott was herding the other four victims of the crash over to his sports car.  The fire department had been called to deal with the wreck, and other than Kurt, there were no serious injuries.  Which left the question of Janella.  Actually, it left several questions.

            Why was she out here in the first place, when she was so obviously restricted to the mansion?  How had she known what had happened before everyone else, as she must have to get there just as the emergency call was being placed?  How had she known what to do so well?  Why had she collapsed when they arrived?  Why wasn't she wearing a shirt?  Actually, that last one had an answer.  Someone had shredded something to stop the elf's bleeding, and the several loose strips of fabric they had found were the same color as the shirt she had had on early today.  But the other questions…he wasn't so sure, and she certainly wasn't in ay condition to answer them now.  He sighed and stooped to pick her up.

            It wasn't as if the girl's presence, no matter how mysterious, wasn't a blessing.  According to Kitty, Kurt would have died if she hadn't shown up, because, while they all had hypothetical training in dealing with these sorts of things, none of them had ever really had the opportunity to apply it.  Her getting him back from unconsciousness had been brilliant.  He carried her up and over the hill, and released her into the competent arms of Ororo, heading around to the front of the van and getting into the driver's seat.  This was shaping up to be one hell of a night!

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This was one damn hard chapter to write, and I have no idea why.  It just was.  Stupid chapter.  

Trivia fact:  Before I wrote this, I had a different Chapter 15 in the works, and it was almost completely finished.  Then I decided I didn't like the direction it was going in, scrapped it, and wrote this, which is infinitely better, though it didn't come out quite as well as I had hoped.

Interesting little POV change at the end there, but I had some stuff I wanted to get said, which I couldn't do from Mythos' POV if she was unconscious!  So I did it from Logan's.  Don't ask why I picked him, though, I just did.  

A little more sappiness there, but that's okay.  I like it.

As I said above, this story is finished with eighteen chapters, and my longest so far!  Go me!  Anyway, I'll be updating soon, so…

Disclaimer:  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't own X-Men: Evo.  I am making no money off of this fic.  My only profit is a swelling of my sense of self-worth when people review.  Thank you.


	16. Can't think of a name for this one

Chapter 16!  Yay!  Not much to say here, though…

MetaChi:  I did?  Where?  *Goes back to look*  Hmm…yesh, action is good.  Action me likey!!  It is good!  I feel so bad for him!  *Sob*  Yeah, I guess Logan is pretty cool.  Not one of my favorites though…just a preference!  I'm glad you liked it!!  I have no idea.  Supposedly some big surge or something.  I'm just glad I didn't lose power!!

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Kurt awoke slowly the next day to find he was sore from the waist up, he had a pounding headache, and that he really didn't feel like moving anywhere for any thing.  And though he was ravenously hungry (even more so than usual), the mere thought of food made his stomach turn.  He groaned, and laid a bandaged arm across his eyes.

            "Nice to see you've come around."  The voice was quiet, and very carefully calculated to be noticeable, but not intrude into his head or make the pain there worse.  He wondered how the speaker could know just what tone and volume to use, and realized that he knew how she did it.  She shared his pain, didn't she?  So she would know what to do to not make it worse.

            "Vhathappened?" he asked slowly, not removing his arm.  There was a pause as Janella considered her words.

            "You were in a car accident, Kurt," she said in that same measured, even voice.  "A bad one.  No one was hurt though, except you.  You almost died."  The suppressed pain in her voice told him she had felt every bit of that 'almost.'  

            "I didn't though, did I?" he asked, softly.

            "Well obviously not," Janella said with a small laugh.

            "Ah Kurt, it is good to see you're awake."  That was Professor X.  Kurt didn't know if he had just entered the room, or been there the whole time, and frankly he didn't care.  He didn't care much about anything.  He didn't have the energy.  The Professor spoke again, using the same tone and volume as Janella had been.  "You may go, Janella.  Tell the others that he's awake, but warn them that they'll be unable to visit him for several days now."  There was a moment's silence.  "Janella.  You may go."  There was a series of muffled rustlings and the scraping sound of a chair being pushed back.  The door swung open and closed.

            "She was quite worried about you, Kurt," Professor X said softly when she had gone.  "All of them were, but none quite so much as she.  We had to compel her to leave, to eat and get some rest.  She seemed convinced that if she left for even a second, you'd die on her."

"How'd you manage to…?"

"Force, mainly," Xavier said frankly. "Choice use of certain medications to get her to sleep.  She had banged herself up badly in her rush to get to you, and-"

"Vhat, exactly, happened, Professor?" Kurt asked, removing his arm from his face, very gingerly, and staring up at the stark white ceiling, bathed in a gentle glow meant to sooth.  The Professor was silent for a moment, before recounting the story.

"Did all of zat really happen?" Kurt asked when he was finished.  "I don't remember a thing…"

"And you probably won't for a while," the Professor cautioned.  "You suffered some severe head trauma, it's only logical that there will be some temporary memory loss.  As you heal, though, you should remember anything you can't now."

"But what if I forget what I forgot, and can't remember to check if I remember?" he asked, quite seriously.

"Er…I don't think that'll be a problem, Kurt," the Professor assured him quickly.  Kurt looked down from the ceiling and found that he can see a bit of the room without having to move more than his eyes, which pleased him.  He looked around and saw the Professor, in his wheelchair by the end of his bed.  The older man smiled encouragingly at him, and he continued to survey the room.  It was a typical infirmary room, much like the one Janella had been staying in when she was still bed-ridden.

"The good news is that you didn't break any bones, so you should not be held abed for too long," Professor X informed him.  "A few days to let your body recover from the shock inflicted on it, maybe a day or two more to make sure everything's working properly."

"All right, Professor," Kurt said.  He would have nodded, but decided against it.  He was feeling exhausted now, and rather hoped Professor X would leave soon, so he could just go back to sleep.

"I understand that your feeling tired, Kurt," Professor X said, as if he had read his mind.  Actually, he probably had.  "So I'll be leaving you to your rest now.  At the moment, sleep is imperative to your recovery."  With that said, the older man nodded and turned, heading for the door.  Before he could get there, though, it opened, harsh fluorescent light from the hall beyond streaming in and framing Janella's figure, her one wing swathed in gauzy bandages.  She bowed shortly to the Professor, holding the door open for him to pass, and then entered, followed by Ororo and Mr. McCoy.  Kurt groaned.  He didn't want any more company right now.  

"Don't worry Kurt," Ororo reassured him.  "We won't be here long, and hopefully you'll be long asleep by the time we leave."

"Promise?"  All three of them laughed, and Hank held up a syringe, which looked like a toy in his hand.  He smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Kurt," he assured him, deftly inserting the syringe into the blue-furred arm.  The drug took effect almost instantly, and as Janella gingerly settled herself into a chair in the corner of the room, Kurt drifted off to a deep, healing sleep.

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Okay, only two chapters to go!  Woohoo!  Review!!!

Disclaimer:  *Yawn.*


	17. Deserving

*Sniff*  I didn't get any reviews for my last chapter!!  But you know what, I'm okay with that, really I am.  I just really, really hope to get reviews for this one!

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When he awoke some indiscriminate time later, he felt marginally better, well enough to sit up anyway, though the movement exhausted him and he had to lay limp against his pillow.  He was alone in the room.  Well, no, he was not.  Janella was still in her chair, fast asleep.  Her legs were crossed beneath her, and her hands were resting in her lap.  Her head was slumped against her chest, and her tail tip trailed gracefully on the floor.  One of her wings was held closed by the bandages, so was still folded against her back, but the other was limp and open, spread down the side of the chair and partially across the floor.  

            He watched her for a moment.  She appeared to be dreaming.  He could tell by the small movements of the muscles in her arms and legs, and the fleeting expressions that crossed her face from time to time.  He watched her for a moment and sighed wistfully.  She really was very pretty, and the fact the she spent so much time in here with him made him feel, well, honored.  The thought that maybe she was doing it because if he died it would cause unbelievable pain to her crossed his mind, but he shook the thought away.  She wasn't like that.  She seemed truly worried about him

He considered waking her up, but remembered that the Professor said she hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and he couldn't bring himself to disturb whatever she got.  So he simply sat in silence for a while, eventually drifting off to near-sleep himself.  He shifted his shoulders from side to side in an attempt to get more comfortable.

This was a mistake.

A wave of pain started from a hot point between his shoulder blades and swept out wards, seeming to light the ends of every nerve on fire as it went.   Janella jerked awake, nearly tipping over her chair, with an anguished cry of "Kurt!" though whether this was a vestige of a dream or a reaction to his movement he couldn't tell.  She tensed for a moment, panting heavily, before relaxing.  

"Oh…oh my…"

"Vhat is wrong?" he asked quietly, watching her. Already the pain was fading, leaving nothing behind but a slight ache.  She looked up.

"Kurt?  Oh, I didn't wake you up, did I?" she asked with some concern.

"Oh, _nein_, I vas already avake," he assured her.  "Now, vhat's wrong? " She shook her head.

"It's nothing," she said.  "Just a nightmare.  I can hardly even remember it now."  She glanced down at the floor, and Kurt did not press any farther, though he suspected she could remember it.  

"So," he said eventually.  "I heard you banged yourself up trying to…"

"Yeah," she said with a wry laugh.  "I think I sprained every muscle in my wing, as well as some of the ones in my shoulder and side too!  Mr. McCoy kindly provided me with this numbing cream to put on it, though, so the pain wouldn't bother you any."  She kept on talking, but that last bit of what she had said kept bouncing around in Kurt's head.

_So it wouldn't bother you any.  _Not, "so it wouldn't hurt me," but "so it wouldn't bother you any."  The way she had said that made her sound as if she did not care if she were in pain, but if it affected him, then she did care.  He dropped his gaze to his knees, thinking about the implications of that.

"Kurt?  Kurt!" Janella's voice broke into his contemplation.  He looked up.  

"_Ja?_"

"I asked if you were feeling better," Janella said.

"Oh.  Vell, a little.  I'm really, really-" He yawned widely at this point.

"Enervated?" Janella supplied with a grin.  He nodded slightly.

"_Ja._"

"Well, don't worry about it," Janella said.  "I felt the same after the wing incident.  It's just your body trying to recover.  When you start to get your energy back is when you know you're feeling better."  

"Okay," he said, through another yawn.  Janella smiled warmly at him.

"Get some rest, Fuzzy," she ordered him.  "The mansion misses you."  He nodded, and was only too happy to comply.

The next time he awoke, he felt much better.  Once again, there was only Janella in the room with him, head bent over her laptop and fingers flying over the keys.  He yawned and stretched, and found he was able to move without too much pain.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Janella said without looking up.

"Is it?"  She nodded.

"Sure is," she informed him.  "You've been asleep for at least eighteen hours.  How do you feel now?"

"A lot better!" he informed her happily.  

"Good enough to eat something?" she asked him, which caused him to realize that he was ravenous.

"Of course!" he said amiably, with a grin.  She stood up.  

"Thought ya would be," she said with a wink.  "I'll be right back!"  With that, she passed out the door, letting it close softly behind her.  He stared at it, trying to sort out the thoughts in his head.  He thought he would have long enough to order them at least, and maybe even to come to some conclusions, but the door swung open again, and she backed in, carrying a tray.  She turned about and shut the door behind her.

The tray was very heavily laden; the most noticeable feature a bowl big enough to hold the contents of three cans of soup.  There was also a pile of rolls, and what looked like a very appetizing sandwich.  Using a deft combination of wingtip, tail, and foot, she managed to extract a table-stand-thingy and set it up on the bed, keeping up a steady stream of chatter as she did so.

"Man, did you know all they wanted to give was this broth stuff?  I vetoed that.  Said you'd be insulted, like Robinton is if you dare not give him wine.  They would not allow you to have solid food yet, but I did manage to get some soup with good solid stuff in it.  Chikarina, my friend, Italian wedding soup.  'S got chicken meatballs in it!  It's good.  And I snuck in the rolls too, but don't tell them.  In case you were wondering, we've had this stuff ready almost all day, because we figured you'd be hungry when you woke up, and-Hey!  That's for me!"  She batted his hand away from the sandwich, and lifted it from the tray.  "First time I get a good Honey Ham and Swiss from Panera in over a month and I'll be damned if I let you have it!"  

"Aw, and it looked so good too," he said imploringly.  She pointed at the bowl.  

"That's for you, Fuzzy.  This is for me." She sat back down in her chair, tugging it closer to the bed, and picked up her sandwich with a look that dared him to say otherwise.  He shrugged, and was pleased that he only felt the barest twinge of pain.  All that sleeping really had done him good.  Obediently, he picked up his spoon and dipped it into the soup, which was at the perfect temperature for consumption.  

The soup was good, and even though there were at least three cans' worth in there, he finished it off quickly, as well as most of the rolls, with very little unnecessary talk.  Janella had polished off her sandwich at a rate which amazed him, considering she was usually one of the slowest eaters at the table, which indicated that the place it had come from was either better than he assumed or she was starving as well, and when she was done seemed content to just watch him eat.  They split the last pair of rolls, which had been fresh and inordinately delicious, in silence as well.  Only when she stood and bent over him to collect the things did he speak.

"Vhy are you doing this?" he asked softly.  She didn't look at him, concentrating instead on the bottom of the empty soup bowl.

"Doing what?" she asked cautiously.

"This," he said, gesturing at the tray, and the room, the chair, and her.

"I-because I…I," she stammered.  He placed one finger under her chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to meet his gaze, and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.  She looked away quickly, a blush coloring her cheeks, and picked up the tray, turning to go.  "Because you deserve it," she said very softly.  She would have fled then, embarrassed beyond belief, had she not found his tail about her waist, holding her back.  He spun her to face him again, pulling her down on the bed and grasping both of her forearms to keep her there.  He picked the tray up with his tail from its place on his bed and transferred it to the chair, pushing that away.

"I deserve your attentions," he said gently.  "But do I deserve you?"  She blushed furiously at this and half-heartedly tried to pull away, but when he transferred one hand to the back of her head and pulled her into his embrace, his heart leapt to see that she did not resist.

"Okay," Kitty said, looking around at the others assembled by her.  "Do we, like, have everything?"  They all nodded.  Bobby had one of those giant get-well cards, which had been passed around the Institute for everyone to sign, which everyone had.  Rahne held a small bouquet of flowers, but instead of being regular, flowery flowers, they were chocolate ones, wrapped in foil to make them look more realistic.  Amara carried a bright blue teddy bear that someone had cleverly altered to have pointy ears and a tail, and Kitty was keeping a handful of balloons from floating away, including one that said 'Get well soon!' and one that had a picture of a car on it.  She looked around again, nodded at her little contingent, and they set off down into the infirmary quadrant.  

They all chattered to each other on the way down, but fell silent one by one as they reached the door to Kurt's infirmary room.  Ororo had assured them that as soon as he felt good enough to eat, it would be all right to begin visiting him, but the quartet was still a bit apprehensive.  The younger three looked to Kitty who sighed, smiled encouragingly, and opened the door.

That was as far as she got, because what she saw inside stopped her in her tracks, and the other three had to peer around her to see what shocked her so, but when they saw, their reactions were the same as hers.

Janella was sitting on Kurt's bed, balanced finely on one folded leg, her other draped over both of his.  Her arms were splayed, palms pressing into the pillow on either side of his head.  He had one arm about her back, under the wings, and one on the back of her head, holding her close to him.  His tail was wrapped about her shin, and hers was about his thigh.  They were kissing, very lightly.

"Uh, Kitty?  I think this is a bad time…" Amara said.  Kitty nodded, and all four of them backed out.

"Did we just see that?" Rahne asked.  

"Yep, I think we did," Bobby replied.  They all fell silent for a moment, before someone said, "Bet I can tell more people than you!" and the three younger ones scattered off.  Kitty stared at the door for a minute, before shrugging and turning to go upstairs.  No stopping them now.

Janella pulled away, shaking her head.  "Kurt, I…this is wrong," she said sadly.

"Vhy, _liebe_?" he asked, worried.

"Kurt," she said slowly.  "What about you and Amanda?  Aren't you two-?" He cut her off with a rueful laugh.  

"Ve vere," he said.  She looked at him with in unspoken question, and he answered it.  "I ran into her at ze movies, and she…she told me she vanted to break it off.  She said she vas going on vacation, and vanted to be able to pursue any…any…" He broke off and looked away.

"Oh Kurt, I'm so sorry," Janella said, sitting back and biting her lip.

"Don't be, Janella.  I'm sure it vas something I-" She shook her head to silence him, and laid a hand sympathetically on his arm.  

"If she can go and do something like that to you, she doesn't deserve a sweet and caring guy like you," Janella said, a hint of anger on his behalf hardening her voice.  He couldn't help but notice that she seemed more attractive when she was angry.  There was an aura about her, as if anger were her element, though he knew by now that this was not the case.  She smoothed a few strands of her hair out of her face and looked away, suddenly quite self-conscious.  Kurt sat up a little straighter, reaching for her hand.  

            "Vhat about you?" he asked.  She looked up sharply.

            "What about me?"

            "Vell…do you deserve a sweet and caring guy like me?" he asked.  His voice was mocking and playful, but he meant the question in earnest.  He could almost feel the waves of self-doubt emanating from her as she considered the question.  She offered him no answer, though, so after a moment he spoke again.

            "Vould you like my opinion?" he asked.  She nodded mutely.  "I think you do."  A slow, soft smile spread across her face, and turned to regard him, to look him in the eyes.  They say a skilled person can read the truth or lies of a person through their eyes, but Janella didn't need the skills.  She could tell that he was telling her the truth, so when he opened his arms to her, she willingly settled back into his embrace.

            He kissed her, but was annoyed to find that the combination of being awake so long and a stomach full of food was sapping his energy, fast.  So, despite his unwillingness, he was soon asleep again, Janella still cradled in his arms.  

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Awwww!  I like this chapter so much!  I don't know why.  Oh, and remember what I said in the beginning about there maybe being vague hints of Kurt/Janella in here?  I lied!  ^.^

Disclaimer:  No.  Just no.  I don't own…anything.  Really.  I don't.  You have to believe me!


	18. That's it? Yes It is

Last one and I am done!  Yeah…

MetaChi: Give or take a couple seconds, that's about how long it took, yeah.  Not yet, but I am making plans!  Go me!

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If Janella and Kurt got strange looks the next day when Ororo and Mr. McCoy entered to check Kurt over, they ignored them.   Janella was perched on the edge of the bed, and they were playing war on the stand, which had been set up on the bed.  Kurt was winning.

The tray on the table beside the bed, which had been so fully laden Janella almost couldn't carry it, was now almost completely divested of its contents, with only the myriad debris of breakfast scattered across it.  They set aside the game and Janella retired to her corner while the two adults thoroughly went over him.  

            "Well, Kurt, I don't see any reason to keep you here any longer," Mr. McCoy said after they had finished up, handing Kurt his shirt so he could pull it back on.  Janella was smothering a giggle, and Ororo cast a knowing glance at the girl.  Kurt grinned, and Mr. McCoy slapped him on the back, nearly knocking him off his feet.  

            "Be easy on the boy, Hank!" Ororo said with laugh.  "He's not entirely better yet!"

            "Just 99% better!" Kurt declared, sticking out his chest and striking a pose.  Janella rolled her eyes. 

 "Yeah, so was I when I had to come to rescue of your sorry behind," she said wryly.  "Now look at me!"

"Oh, that's just a technicality to keep you from attempting to do something like that again," Ororo assured her.  

"It's still annoying," Janella retorted, crossing her arms.

"Hey, since you're down here, why don't you let Ororo and I check you over too," Mr. McCoy suggested.  Janella shrugged.  

"Why not?"  Her examination didn't take very long since they only had to look at her wing, so they were out of there fast.  She and Kurt nodded to Ororo and Mr. McCoy, and ran off before either of the adults could say anything.

Unfortunately, the first person they ran into was Logan, who didn't look happy to see them, precisely, but did look like he had been looking for them.

"Ah, there you two are," he said.  "I was looking for you."

"Er…dare we ask why?"

"Well, you have an excuse," Logan said quickly, pointing at Kurt, "but you," and here he points to Janella, "have been skiving off Danger Room sessions for days, so I figured we can begin making them up now."  Janella's jaw dropped.

"Please tell me you're kidding, Mr. Logan," she said pleadingly.  He opened his mouth to reply when Mr. McCoy emerged from a doorway a bit farther down the hall.  

"Logan, you're giving the girl a heart attack," he said with a laugh.  "Let her have the rest of the day free.  She'll report to the Danger Room later tonight, won't you Janella?" 

She laughed. "Of course I will, Mr. McCoy.  Thank you!"  She grabbed Kurt's arm and hauled him off as fast as she could.

"Note he didn't say I have to go to a session!" Kurt said with a grin when they were out of Logan's considerable earshot.

"Well aren't you lucky?" Janella asked sarcastically as the walked together, shoulders brushing.  

"Kurt!  You're, like, better?"  The pair of them started as Kitty walked through a wall ahead of them.  The girl's gaze flicked between them, and almost unconsciously they stepped apart.  

"_Ja!_" Kurt said quickly.  "I got released today!  Have to take it easy for a couple more days, though."  He made a face of suitable disgust for this injunction.  Kitty laughed.

"It's going to be, like, hard to stay relatively still that long, isn't it?" she asked with a smile.

"'Specially when you're a human bouncy ball," Janella added, leaning against the wall.

"You mean a blue elfin bouncy ball!" Kitty said.  They both laughed, and Kurt glared half-heartedly.

"_Ja, __ja, _vhatever," he said, evoking more laughter.

"Right.  Like, I gotta go," Kitty said after a minute, crossing the hall and phasing partially into the room there.

"See ya later, Kitty."

"Bye Kitty!"  She phased entirely into the wall, and they continued down the hall.

"Oh, and you two?"  They turned to see her head sticking out of the wall.  "Everyone knows.  Just thought I'd warn ya!"  She pulled back in.

"I vould have been surprised if zey didn't," Kurt murmured as they turned and walked off.  Janella rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, me too."

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The end!

No, seriously, the end.  I'm done.  *Dances*  Now please, if you're reading this, and have been all along, leave me a review.  Please?  Please?!  You gotta!  *Begs*

Right.  *Shakes head*  I don't really have anything else to say.

Disclaimer:  I disclaim.  Janella was mine, the various aliens were mine, but that's about all.  Sorry, lawyers, no work for you!  Hah! 


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